CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N.Y. (WKBW) — An arrest has been made in the case of 16-month-old Nayla Hodnett nearly five years after her murder in Chautauqua County.
35-year-old Tyler A. Perez is now charged with Second Degree Murder and Manslaughter. Perez was the mother's boyfriend at the time of her death.
Perez is currently being held on $500,000 cash bond.
Nayla was killed in 2014. An autopsy determined the little girl died of blunt-force trauma.
Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson says Jamestown PD never stopped working on this case. Although he wouldn't elaborate on specifics, he says sometimes when time passes new evidence or witnesses come to light.
"Sometimes witnesses become more cooperative," he said. "We don't give up. Neither does law enforcement, and we'll continue to look at those cold cases in hopes we find a resolution at some point."
Perez will be back in court as soon as a judge is assigned to the case.
