Turlock toddler was bubbly, neighbor says, and it’s ‘heavy in the neighborhood now’
The Turlock Police Department and Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit are continuing their investigation into the alleged murder of a 2-year-old boy found dead Wednesday after police and fire units responded to a residential fire on the 1200 block of Expedition Street.
A saddened neighbor described the toddler as bubbly, saying he often played outside, as he did the morning of his death.
The neighbor, Darrah King, added that the boy would often come up to her home’s front window to greet her cats.
“I would always see him with his mom, and they would walk to their mailbox. And he would run up here ’cause I have cats and they’ll come up to the window, and he’ll always come up and see how the cats are,” King said. “There’s no reason for someone to hurt a baby and I hope justice is served. And the mom, my momma heart hurts for her.”
Richard Regalado, an uncle who was babysitting the boy Wednesday while his parents were at work, remains in custody without bail.
Regalado lived with the family and it was not uncommon for him to babysit the child, according to Police Department spokesperson Dominique Roton. The family has multiple children, but the others weren’t home at the time of the fire and are safe.
TPD has concluded that the fire was intentionally set and the 2-year-old’s death is being investigated as a homicide. Regalado faces charges of murder, aggravated arson and child abuse causing death. The child was discovered in a bedroom of the house about two hours after dispatch.
A GoFundMe account, titled “Coming together for the Regalado family,” has been established to assist the family.
King said she saw the uncle leaving the house around 9 a.m., perhaps 15 minutes before the fire was reported. She heard loud banging, which she didn’t think much of, given the ongoing roadwork near their home. But as she looked outside, she said she saw Regalado exiting the house, visibly distressed.
“I haven’t ever seen him walk that fast before. So it was just odd,” she said. She added he kept banging his hand against his head. “It was just off. It just caught your eye, you know what I mean?”
King added that “it’s definitely heavy in the neighborhood now ’cause there’s kids here, so we have laughter all the time. ’Cause of the cul-de-sac, you can hear everything and I heard him (the toddler) in the morning. To know that he’s gone, it’s just hard.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 5:34 PM.
