Boy dubbed "Little Jacob" identified 8 months after body washed ashore.. mom & girlfriend arrested

The body of a little boy washed ashore last year in Galveston, Texas, but his identity wasn't known at the time so he was dubbed "Little Jacob". Police have now identified him 8 months after and his mother and her girlfriend have been arrested in relation to the child's death.

The boy known to police as Little Jacob was identified as 4-year-old Jayden Alexander Lopez of Houston, Texas, Galveston Police Chief Vernon Hale said Wednesday in a press conference.

Jayden’s body was found at a Galveston beach last year. Since then, Galveston Police and the FBI spent hundreds of man-hours attempting to locate relatives or any possible clues leading to who he might be. After first releasing an artist’s impression of the little boy and then taking the rare step of releasing a photograph of the boy’s body, members of the public came forward.

Two tips led police to identify him, and a DNA sample allowed them to locate his mother, Rebecca Rivera, as well as her girlfriend Dania Amezquita-Lopez. Both were arrested in connection to his death, Hale said.

"When I arrived in January, my only goal, quite honestly, was not only justice, it was to give this baby a name because we had none," Hale, who became police chief earlier this year, said.

His mother Rivera, 34, was arrested for a felony charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. She is currently being held at the Galveston County Jail on a $250,000 bond. 

Rebecca Rivera, Jayden's mother

Amezquita-Gomez, 31, was arrested for a misdemeanor charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with a $100,000 bond. She is also being held at the Galveston County Jail.

Dania Amezquita-Gomez, Rivera's girlfriend

Police have not said how the little boy died. He did not, however, drown.

"Little Jacob showed signs of neglect and injuries consistent with abuse; however, none of the injuries appeared to have been fatal," Galveston Police said earlier when the body was found.