Mother, 17, Arrested in Death of Infant
A 17-year-old Van Nuys girl has been arrested on suspicion of killing her 2-month-old son.
The infant died Tuesday while undergoing treatment for head trauma, the Los Angeles Police Department reported Wednesday.
The mother asked a neighbor to take her and her son, Juan Carlos Zuniga, to the hospital about 8 p.m. Monday, said Lt. Robert Iddings of the Police Department’s child protection section. The mother told investigators that she “was giving the child a bath and noticed its head was very soft and the child didn’t look quite right,” Iddings said.
The baby was conscious when it arrived at Valley Presbyterian Hospital, but his condition deteriorated, Iddings said. He died about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Detectives arrested the mother after interviewing witnesses Tuesday morning, Iddings said. He would not disclose what the witnesses said. The mother was being detained at Sylmar Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder, police said.
The mother lives with her boyfriend in an apartment on Hazeltine Avenue, he said. The boyfriend was not home Monday evening and is not considered a suspect, he said.
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