A Nebraska mother has been charged for her alleged role in the death of her 22-month-old son, who died last week following months of suspected abuse.

Thirty-year-old Brittany Cook is alleged to have repeatedly ignored obvious signs of abuse displayed on her late toddler's body up until the day that she finally brought him to the hospital on March 12.

By that point, suspected abuse at the hands of Cook's boyfriend of two months, Joshua Tackett, had left the child, Rudy Requejo-Ybarra Jr., brain dead, according to court filings.

Just one day prior, police allege, Cook and her boyfriend had abandoned the toddler with Cook's other young children to go to a casino. 

Prior to his death, doctors determined the child had 'severe brain swelling and bleeding, retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes, several broken ribs, injuries to his genital area and two fractures to his left tibia.'

There were bruises all over his body and he had 'pattern injuries' that investigators ultimately matched to the grill of a space heater that Cook had left running while she took a shower on March 11. 

Brittany Cook, 30, was arrested and charged with child abuse resulting in death, a felony that is punishable by 20 years to life in prison

Joshua Tackett, 32, was also charged with the same crime, in addition to two felony gun charges

Cook, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was charged with child abuse resulting in death, a felony that is punishable by 20 years to life in prison. Her bail has been set at $1million.

Tackett, 32, was also charged last week with the same crime, in addition to two felony gun charges. His mother was also slapped with a charge of felony evidence tampering.

Michael Barry, an investigator with the Lincoln Police, said Cook brought her son to the hospital on March 12 with 'numerous bruises and injuries.'

The toddler was then taken by ambulance to the Children's Hospital in Omaha, where physicians determined the full extent of his condition.

There were bruises 'all over' the child's body, in addition to the space heater burn marks.

His mother initially described several accidents to explain her son's injuries, including one on February 18, when Cook claimed her boyfriend has 'passed out' while holding the 22-month-old and fallen on top of him.

She said that she had not taken her son to the doctor following any of the accidents.

Cook also said her son fell down a staircase at the apartment she shared with Tackett on March 9, but that he seemed uninjured from the fall.

Police allege that Cook  moved her four children into Tackett's apartment on March 4 and observed as injuries and signs of abuse appeared on her son's body.

'Despite noticing these injuries, Cook continues to leaver (her son) in the care of Tackett,' wrote Barry in the filings.

Baby Rudy Requejo-Ybarra Jr. was declared brain dead by doctors after being found unresponsive in his crib on March 12

The toddler has many visible injuries including pattern markings on his face and chest from a space heater his mother had left on while she was watching him

The day prior to his hospitalization, police believe cook returned from running errands to find her son with a gash on the back of his head, bleeding onto a blanket, with a front tooth missing.

But she did not seek medical attention for the toddler.

Instead, said Barry, the couple left the toddler under the supervision of Cook's other children - aged 3, 4, and 10 - and went to a casino. 

In the early hours of the morning on March 12, Cook left her son, who had been sleeping on a hallway floor, with Tackett and went to pick up fast food.

When she arrived back at the apartment, Tackett had moved the child to his crib.

Cook showered and went to sleep, waking up at 5am to check on Rudy, whom she found face down in his crib. She went back to sleep and didn't return to his crib again until 11am after Tackett had discovered the child 'lifeless.'

Cook then bounced on her bed with her son in her arms and took a cold shower with him, but couldn't wake him up.

Only then, against the objections of Tackett, did she take Rudy to the hospital at 4pm on Match 12 - five hours after he was found unresponsive.

Hospital staff called police, who suspected Tackett was involved with the boy's injuries. 

Rudy Requejo-Ybarra Jr. with one of his young family members. The night before his death, Cook's other three children, aged 3, 4, and 10 were left alone to watch one another while the couple went to a casino

Prior to his death, doctors determined the child had 'severe brain swelling and bleeding, retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes, several broken ribs, injuries to his genital area and two fractures to his left tibia'

The police then began surveilling the apartment complex and observed Tackett's mother arrive at around 7pm and leave soon after carrying a rifle case.

Law enforcement believe the mother, Karen Vestecka, retrieved her son's Ruger AR .556 from the apartment in an attempt to protect him from felony gun charges.

Tackett is prohibited from owning firearms due to prior felony and domestic violence-related convictions.

The woman, 58, was charged with tampering with physical evidence. 

Tackett is currently being held on a $2million bond and the other three children have been taken into state custody. 

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