Couple Arrested in Death of 4-Year-Old
The mother and stepfather of a 4-year-old Lake Los Angeles girl were arrested Wednesday morning, about 12 hours after the girl died, because doctors reported that her body was covered with bruises, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Christina Blalock died at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in Lancaster after being airlifted from her home east of Palmdale. The cause of death will not be known until an autopsy is completed, deputies said.
Her stepfather, William Welshans, 24, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and her mother, Mary Welshans, 23, on suspicion of felony child abuse, deputies said.
Mary Welshans told an emergency dispatcher the girl fell off a woodpile, Deputy Chris Wahla said.
The hospital staff found injuries inconsistent with a fall, deputies said, including “severe trauma on her back and buttocks” and bruises on her face, legs and abdomen.
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