NC man charged with killing baby taught at local colleges, records show
A Gastonia man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a newborn boy police say his family was adopting listed two local colleges as his employers on his LinkedIn page.
The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday reported Van Erick Custodio, 42, had been arrested. The Associated Press on Friday reported Custodio’s faculty page at Belmont Abbey College had been removed.
The 6-week-old, Lucas Birchim, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries on April 1 and died 12 days later, according to a Gastonia Police Department news release. The infant was in cardiac arrest when police and EMS responders arrived at a home on Prancer Lane, police said.
Custodio was jailed on a charge of felony child abuse with severe bodily injury, jail records show. He now faces the murder charge and is being held without bail, according to the jail.
Custodio was listed as a full-time assistant professor in computer studies at Belmont Abbey College. His Linkedin page indicates he also was an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte starting in January, which the AP first reported.
After police obtained an arrest warrant, Custodio was arrested Monday in York County, S.C., Gastonia police said. Custodio was extradited to Gaston County on Wednesday, according to police.
Police urge anyone with information about the case to call Gastonia police Detective J. Loftin at 704-866-6702.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information about his employment.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 7:30 PM.