Parents Charged in Fatal Beating of 3-Month-Old

A Pico Rivera man was charged with murder Monday for allegedly beating and shaking his 3-month-old son to death, and the child’s mother was charged with child abuse.

Edward Michael Saavedra, 20, made his initial appearance in Whittier Municipal Court and was ordered held without bail pending a Jan. 22 arraignment. Elizabeth Madrid, 18, was charged with felony child abuse for allegedly placing her son in danger. She, too, is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 22. Bail was set at $20,000.

The couple’s son, Jovaunn Saavedra, died Friday at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. The infant had received multiple injuries, including blows to the body and brain damage caused by severe shaking, the coroner’s office said.

The day before, the couple called 911 to report that their son was not breathing. Deputies who were called to the Pico Rivera home said the infant was in such bad condition that they did not wait for an ambulance, but took him in a patrol car to Beverly Hospital in Montebello. He was later transferred to Long Beach Memorial, where he died after being removed from life-support systems.