DNA results confirm boy found in canal was Juliani Cardenas of Patterson

DNA samples have confirmed that the boy whose body was found in the Delta-Mendota Canal on Tuesday was Juliani Cardenas, who was kidnapped Jan. 18 from his Patterson home, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said Friday.

The sheriff's office said it received the test results from the California Department of Justice. DNA from the child matched that of his mother, Tabitha Cardenas. She was notified of the results, the sheriff's office said.

Juliani's death is being investigated as a homicide. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Joe Esteban Rodriguez, whom a farmworker saw drive his Toyota Corolla into the canal near Patterson a short while after Juliani was snatched from his grandmother's arms. Juliani was in the car.

An autopsy by the Stanislaus County coroner determined that he drowned.

Sheriff's investigators recovered Rodriguez's car last Friday and stopped searching for him. They are waiting for his body to rise from the waters of the canal before, it is presumed, closing their investigation.

Rodriguez was Tabitha Cardenas' ex-boyfriend, and she is pregnant with his child.

A fund to help defray the cost of his funeral has been set up at Bank of the West.