Fayetteville man charged in toddler's death returned to NC

Andrew Tyler Tomczak, 21, was being held Thursday in the Wake County jail. His fiancee, Vanessa Ariana Sanchez, 20, is still in Colorado, where she is fighting extradition.

Fayetteville police responded to 528 Lambert St. on Jan. 29 after 18-month-old Violet Sky Cortez was found unresponsive in a bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy determined Violet died of "significant closed head injuries" and had extensive bleeding around her brain, and the medical examiner stated in the autopsy report that the injuries were "non-accidental in nature."

Upon learning of the autopsy's findings, Fayetteville police charged Tomczak and Sanchez on May 20 with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and launched a nationwide manhunt for the couple.

They were arrested at a home in Colorado Springs, Colo., several hours later when a woman recognized a picture of the wanted pair on Facebook and turned them in.

Tomczak also faces a probation violation charge in Wake County. He was convicted in March on a charge of assault by strangulation and was placed on probation for two years, according to court records.