Investigators say an informal “boot camp” at an Aurora apartment ended with a 4-year-old’s death.
AURORA, Colo. — A Colorado mother is charged with child abuse resulting in death after police said she left her 4-year-old son with a man who then beat the child during an informal discipline arrangement.
Destini Rose Lipsky, 23, was arrested in Colorado Springs six days after Aurora police responded to the apartment where her son was found unconscious and not breathing. The man who had the boy in his care, 24-year-old Alexander Martinez-Armstrong, is charged with first-degree murder. Police said the child died after suffering significant injuries, turning what began as a call for medical help into a homicide case.
The central question for investigators became how the child came to be at Martinez-Armstrong’s apartment. Reports describing the arrest affidavit said Lipsky told police she considered Martinez-Armstrong close to her, like a brother, and that he was the boy’s godfather. She allegedly said she wanted help because the child had lied, gotten into her purse, failed to listen and sometimes taken candy. The arrangement was described as a “boot camp,” but police have not described it as any formal program. It was an agreement between adults that placed the preschool-age child inside an Aurora apartment for punishment.
Police said officers were called around 10 p.m. May 16 to the 14100 block of East Tennessee Avenue. The report was that a young child was unconscious and not breathing. Officers found the boy with major injuries, and he was rushed to a hospital. He died there. Martinez-Armstrong was interviewed and arrested that night. Aurora police said he admitted striking the child. The department later said he was not the boy’s father. The Major Crime Homicide Unit took over the case, and investigators continued interviewing witnesses and reviewing records during the days that followed.
That additional work led police to Lipsky. Aurora police announced May 22 that she had been arrested in Colorado Springs and charged with child abuse resulting in death. Reports citing court documents said investigators believed Lipsky gave Martinez-Armstrong “full permission” to discipline her son, including with punishments she had used herself. Those alleged punishments included spanking, whipping, push-ups, planks and wall-sits. Police have not said Lipsky was present when the fatal injuries were inflicted. Her charge focuses on the alleged decision to put the child in Martinez-Armstrong’s care and allow physical discipline that prosecutors say contributed to the boy’s death.
The child’s injuries were described as widespread. Reports from the affidavit said the boy had bruises from head to toe, including marks of different shapes and ages. Some marks were described as long and narrow, consistent with injuries that could come from a belt or whip-like object. A witness identified as Martinez-Armstrong’s girlfriend told investigators she heard the child screaming while he was in another room, according to reports describing the affidavit. The child was allegedly made to write numbers while being hit on bare skin. Martinez-Armstrong allegedly told investigators he hit the boy at least 21 times with a belt on the day the child died.
The small acts cited as reasons for discipline are part of what gives the case its public force. Police accounts and reported court records describe behavior such as taking candy, lying and entering a purse. The boy was 4, an age when children are still learning impulse control and rules. The criminal case, however, is not about parenting methods in the abstract. It is about allegations that two adults allowed or carried out force that left a child dead. Investigators have treated the case as a homicide since the early hours after the 911 call.
Martinez-Armstrong’s legal exposure is the more severe of the two public cases so far because he faces first-degree murder. Lipsky faces a child abuse resulting in death charge, one of Colorado’s most serious child abuse charges. Local reports said Martinez-Armstrong was held without bond in Arapahoe County, while Lipsky was held on $500,000 bond after her Colorado Springs arrest pending transfer. It was not immediately clear from available public reports whether either defendant had entered a plea. Both cases are expected to move through Arapahoe County proceedings as prosecutors decide what evidence to present at hearings.
The mother’s alleged statements may become a major part of the court record. Reports citing the affidavit said she described why she sent her son to Martinez-Armstrong and what she allowed him to do. Those statements, if admitted in court, could help prosecutors show what Lipsky knew and intended. Defense attorneys may challenge how the statements were taken, what she understood at the time and whether she could have foreseen the force later alleged. For Martinez-Armstrong, police statements and witness accounts about the beating are expected to matter heavily, along with medical evidence from the hospital and coroner.
The public record also leaves some important facts unknown. Police have not publicly released the child’s name. They have not released the final coroner’s report. They have not said how long the child had been at the apartment before the fatal call or whether any outside agency had prior contact with the family. It is also not clear from public reports whether prosecutors will add or change charges as more evidence is reviewed. Police did say the investigation continued after Martinez-Armstrong’s arrest, and that continued work is what led to Lipsky being taken into custody.
The case now sits in the court system with two adults charged and a 4-year-old dead after what investigators describe as discipline. As of June 18, the next steps were expected to include court hearings, bond review and the release of further medical or procedural records.
Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.