On Friday morning, the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse turned into a sober memorial as local leaders and child-protection advocates gathered to honor 13 children who died from abuse in 2025. In front of the crowd, organizers laid wreaths beside 14 pairs of empty shoes, tiny sneakers and little sandals lined up in rows. The extra pair stood in for any child whose death remains unknown. The quiet display was meant as a call to the public to notice and report signs of neglect before it is too late, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Wreaths and empty shoes
Child Advocates of San Antonio hosted the ceremony, drawing elected officials, law-enforcement leaders and front-line advocates who stood together to recite a pledge to protect children. Organizers chose not to release the victims' names to protect family privacy. Instead, a CASA volunteer rang a small bell 14 times, one for each child remembered and one for those who may never be counted, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
Advocates at the courthouse said the 13 deaths reflect a larger and deeply troubling pattern in Bexar County. More than 4,800 confirmed child-victim cases were recorded in 2024, according to ChildSafe, a grim statistic that underscored every bell chime and every pair of shoes.
Known cases cited
Speakers invoked some of the most visible child-abuse tragedies from last year. Among them were the hot-car deaths of siblings Sevani Stevenson, 6, and Miyani Islar, 3, and the separate hot-car death of 15-month-old Ari'yanna Combs. Deputies arrested the siblings' caregiver, and prosecutors brought charges against Combs' parents, according to local reporting.
The crowd also remembered 10-year-old Michael Miranda, whose death resulted in capital-murder charges against his adoptive parents. Those developments were laid out in local coverage and pulled together in a Dallas farewell for the San Antonio boy. Reporting from KSAT has tracked arrests, autopsy findings and community reaction in several of the cases mentioned at the ceremony.
Leaders' plea
Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark urged the crowd to turn mourning into vigilance, saying, “These young angels should have a chance; we should not be laying wreaths for more children in the future.” CASA CEO Angie White asked teachers, neighbors and anyone who spends time around children to report signs of neglect and abuse instead of assuming someone else will step in.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus called the ritual a stark reminder that the problem has not gone away and told attendees he expected to see them back at next year’s ceremony if the numbers do not change, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
How to help and report
The event closed with a pledge to protect children and a direct appeal for community vigilance. Local advocates stressed that preventing abuse is a shared responsibility and that action usually starts with one person deciding to make a report.
Child Advocates San Antonio offers information on volunteering and support services for children and families. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services lists the statewide abuse and neglect hotline at 1-800-252-5400 in its annual materials. Prevention campaigns like ChildSafe's Cardboard Kids program work to raise awareness in schools, churches and community centers across Bexar County.
As people left the courthouse steps, speakers repeated the same message: if you see something, say something. The wreaths, the shoes and the bell were all designed to turn grief into a clear local request: notice, report and protect, while agencies continue their investigations and families wait for answers.
