My Mom’s Boyfriend Killed My Brother and Got Away With It

My name is Eric Carter-Landin and I am on a mission. I am on a mission to get justice for my baby brother and to spread awareness about an epidemic in my home state of New Mexico. The epidemic is child abuse and child murder. According to the Kids Count Data Center, as of 2018, 15 out of every 1,000 children in New Mexico experience child abuse or neglect. The year before, the number was 25 out of every 1,000 children. There are countless cases of child abuse resulting in death. Some tragic and notable cases include Victoria Martens, Omaree Varela, Baby Briana, Ty Toribio, Jacob Landin, and the list, unfortunately, goes on.

These cases illustrate a huge problem in New Mexico. Countless children are abused and many are murdered every year in New Mexico. Yet little has been done to turn this around. Justice can often be elusive for these victims for many reasons. One of the most alarming reasons is that prosecutors often cherry pick cases which they feel they can easily win. Couple this with extreme poverty, lack of education, and poorly funded resources and this is a recipe for disaster for child welfare.

This brings me back to the story of my brother’s murder. In April 1987, my baby brother was brutally murdered by my mom’s boyfriend. My brother was named Jacob Jeremiah Landin. He was only 9 months old when he died. The cause of death listed on the autopsy is as follows:

“Jacob Landin died of a subdural hematoma (a blood clot between the brain and the dural…