Sonora police arrest suspect in Waterford toddler’s death. Mother also faces charge
Sonora police arrested a suspect Monday in the 2019 death of Waterford toddler Koltyn Sparks-Blackwood.
Joseph Maloney, 26, of Sonora faces second-degree murder and other charges following his arrest at his home, police said.
Koltyn’s mother, Nicole Sparks, 23, of Waterford, faces a charge of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death. She had not been arrested as of Monday evening.
Police declined to say how Sparks was involved in her child’s death. His father is Joshua Blackwood of Oakdale.
Police said earlier that Koltyn, 23 months, was in the care of a babysitter on South Shepherd Street when he suffered fatal injuries on Jan. 15, 2019.
He was taken to Adventist Health Sonora hospital, then to the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento. He died that same day.
The family said in 2019 that Kolytn suffered blunt force trauma to his abdomen and was shaken and possibly smothered.
Loved ones held several protests about the pace of the investigation in Sonora and Modesto. One was outside the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office, which handles Tuolumne County cases under contract.
The family also is working to improve child abuse laws to protect others from what happened to Koltyn. A Facebook page is devoted to him.
The family’s only comment Monday was a statement released by police and the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office:
“We would like to thank everyone that put in countless hours of hard work to make this arrest. Especially the Sonora Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office. We would also like to thank all of the reporters that helped keep us going over the past two years. Now we can move forward and concentrate on Koltyn’s Law.”
Maloney is being held on $1 million bail and will be arraigned by video Wednesday in Tuolumne Superior Court. He faces up to life in prison for the murder and child abuse charges.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Sparks. She faces up to six years in prison.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 7:22 PM.
