WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A trial date has been set for a man allegedly involved in the abuse and neglectful death of his young daughter at the end of 2020.

Garrett Gestes’ trial for child endangerment with serious bodily injury was given a special setting on Friday, August 25, 2023, for this upcoming December 11, 2023.

Gestes was accused of abuse and the neglectful death of his two-year-old daughter after her body was discovered on December 20, 2020, in Wichita Falls.

The girl’s mother, Autumn Gestes, has been charged with tampering with evidence.

They were arrested about two years after their daughter, Avril Rose Gestes, was found face-up with blood coming from her nose and mouth on their kitchen floor on December 20, 2020.

The officers also said they were taken aback by the smell of rotten food and general filth in the house on Longview Street.

Garrett Gestes remains jailed on a $200,000 bond while Autumn bonded out after her arrest.

The autopsy of Avril noted small bruising on the right temporal scalp, right cheek and left scalp, with a bruise on the left side of her neck. Police said the victim also had two small abrasions on the left side of her chest and a small abrasion on her left shoulder.

The cause of death was listed as “undetermined,” and investigators listed it as a suspicious death.

Police said they discovered that Autumn Gestes deleted numerous text messages exchanged with her husband that mentioned abuse and neglect of the kids.

Police also revealed that messages on her phone stopped at 12:27 a.m. on December 20, after she had gone to the bar with her friends and left her four children in the care of her husband.

After initial questioning, police said the couple’s stories did not match, and then they refused to cooperate with the investigation.

In July of 2023, Garrett Gestes, who has been jailed since Nov. 22, 2022, sent a handwritten letter to the judge asking that his $200,000 bond be reduced so he could get out and get back to living his life.