Child's burned body found huddled under bed

PALMVIEW - The young boy sought safety beneath a bed as flames enveloped his home Thursday.

Emergency responders would later find his huddled remains there.

Rodolfo Tijerina, 3, perished inside the home just west of the intersection of El Jardin Drive and Minnesota Boulevard in Palmview.

Family members burned their arms trying to get into the room to pull him from beneath the bed, where they believe he was trying to hide from the flames. Rodolfo held his arms out and cried for help as his aunt and grandmother tried in vain to make it through the fire to rescue him, said his aunt Yadira Rodriguez.

"We're devastated," she said in Spanish. "This was such a painful death, especially knowing the boy asked for help when he died."

Rodriguez said she wished at least that Rodolfo had died from asphyxiation instead of burning to death in the flames. But because he cried out so much, that scenario seems unlikely, she said.

"I keep wondering: ‘What if he wasn't in the room? What if he was somewhere else?' But there's nothing we can do now," Rodriguez said. "There's nothing."

Authorities responded to the fire about 4:30 p.m. Two hours later, the blaze had been contained and investigators were at the home gathering evidence and searching for clues as to what caused the fire and how Rodolfo died.

The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office and the Hidalgo County Fire Marshal's Office are in charge of the investigation.

"First we need to know whether the fire was intentional or accidental," said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño. "Then, we can know how to carry out the investigation."

An autopsy is slated for Friday, the sheriff said. If the fire was accidental, investigators will also determine whether it was caused by negligence. The home shared electricity with another house nearby, and the electrical wiring may have been inadequate.

"(Rodolfo) was playing in the bedroom when we heard a loud electrical noise," Rodriguez said. "It sounded like there was a short circuit."

Rodriguez and the boy's grandmother were his primary guardians, the aunt said. His mother, who is pregnant, was rushed to the hospital late Thursday evening after relatives told her about Rodolfo's death.

"His grandmother fainted," Rodriguez said. "We're all very upset."

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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.