The State - News from Jan. 22, 1988

A 6-month-old girl died in a Fresno hospital from burns over 70% of her body caused by a fire from a hot plate that had been placed under her swing to keep her warm. Vivian Bustamonte had been flown 100 miles from Arvin to the burn unit at Valley Medical Center in Fresno Wednesday evening. Police arrested her mother, Maria Bustamonte, 22, and the mother’s boyfriend, Juvencio Zavala, 24, for investigation of felony child endangerment. Because the child died, authorities now will consider filing murder charges. City firefighters said the mother had wrapped the girl in a blanket and placed her in a plastic swing over the hot plate, apparently to keep the child warm in 40-degree temperatures.