As the anniversary for four years since the death of Aniyah Star Charlo approaches, her family and members of the community marched to the Lake County Court House to demand justice on Sept 5.  

A group of about 50 people in matching red shirts for Aniyah marched down Hwy. 93 to the courthouse with signs and shouted, “Justice for Aniyah.”  

Aniyah Star Charlo was a joyful 14-month-old toddler who was left in the care of her cousin, Estevan Orozco-Charlo, on Sept. 30, 2021. According to court documents, filed Sept. 16, 2022, in District Court in Polson, witnesses reported that Orozco-Charlo had been heavily drinking the night before and into the early morning.  

The witness reported that she had sent him home to the residence where he was babysitting the following morning around 4:30 a.m. and Orozco-Charlo said in the documents that he slept until 6:30 a.m. when Aniyah’s mother left for work.  

The defendant reported in the documents that it was a typical morning where Aniyah ate breakfast, watched T.V. and played with toys. Around lunch, Orozco-Charlo reported she did not eat all her lunch which was not normal and around the same time Orozco-Charlo reported smoking marijuana.  

Later in the afternoon Orozco-Charlo laid down on the couch with Aniyah on his chest and said he slept for about 20 minutes. When he later woke up, he reported finding her “stuffed” between the cushion and the couch.  

    Tammy Couture holds her grandson Darius as people speak about the tragic death of her granddaughter Aniyah Star Charlo. (Emily Messer / Leader)

He reported she was “kinda moving” and he shook her, which he later admitted may have been “a little bit rough.” After realizing her head was limp and her eyes were closed, Orozco-Charlo attempted CPR and the Heimlich.  

Orozco-Charlo sat her down to help her breathe and changed her clothes and then told officers he put her in a car seat.  

However, according to court documents, the neighbor's door camera recorded Orozco-Charlo leaving the apartment with Aniyah in a stroller and returning a minute later. Then he left again without her and went upstairs to the neighbors to call Aniyah’s mother.  

The neighbors came downstairs to see Aniyah after Orozco-Charlo said she was “breathing really weird” and, after finding her barely breathing and limp, they called 911. Aniyah was then transported to St. Joseph's Medical Center, a quarter mile from the residence, and later life-flighted to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane.   

After Aniyah passed, the Spokane hospital reported the cause of death as undetermined. But they explained that co-sleeping could have contributed to her death and they found a blunt force injury occurred to the back of her head and neck.      People made a number of signs and photos of Aniyah Star Charlo to carry as they walked down from Super 1 to the court house on Sept. 5. (Emily Messer / Leader)

According to the court documents, Orozco-Charlo was charged with negligent homicide, a felony, that could result in up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.  

After substituting a judge, replacing a defense attorney, conflicts with a college graduation and pregnancy, along with the defense requesting further medical records, the trial is now set for Feb. 23.  

Aniyah’s grandmother, Tammy Couture, said Orozco-Charlo received a $5,000 bond and has been out “walking the streets ever since.”  

“He had been babysitting. We have no idea what happened,” Couture said. “He's told three different stories. We're waiting for trial, so we'll get the truth out of him.” 

Couture said she hopes this awareness walk from Super 1 to the courthouse will help speed up prosecution.