Charred Body of Young Girl Discovered

The severely burned body of a young girl was found in a small, residential park in San Pedro Thursday morning, police reported.

Investigators said that initially, at least, the grim discovery raised more questions than they could answer.

Because of charring, they said, identifying the girl probably would take some time. In addition, the cause of death, when the victim died and whether she was killed at the park remained a mystery.

The body of the girl--probably an Anglo or Latino, thought to be less than 12 years old and probably between 8 and 10--was found about 6:30 a.m. by a student strolling through Alma Park, at 21st and Meyler streets, on the way to elementary school.

Fetal Position

Lt. Doug Collisson, of the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau Homicide Division, said the victim was clothed, curled up in a fetal position and lying on a paved walkway behind a small wooden building in an area heavily shaded by large banyon trees. The building, which formerly housed restrooms, is used by the city Recreation and Parks Department as a storage shed.

Collisson said scorch marks on the pavement indicated that the body was burned where it was found. While it appeared that a flammable liquid had been used to ignite the fire, it was unknown what liquid was used.

No notes, inscriptions, signs or symbols were found near the girl’s body to indicate the killing might have been ritualistic, the lieutenant said.

He said no children had been reported missing in the San Pedro area in the hours before the body was discovered.

‘Take Time’

Collisson expressed confidence that detective work and forensic tests would answer many of the unanswered questions, but he cautioned that it would “take time to figure out why it was done and who did it.”

Alma Park occupies portions of two blocks in a quiet, hilltop neighborhood of comfortable homes overlooking Los Angeles Harbor. Police said there is relatively little traffic in the area, and none of the residents reported seeing or hearing anything unusual during the night.