PACOIMA : Youth Arrested in Slaying of Girl

Sheriff’s deputies Monday arrested a 16-year-old North Hollywood youth in connection with the slaying of a 14-year-old Pacoima girl who had been shot several times and dumped in a dry creek bed in Kagel Canyon.

The fully clothed body of Marian Blanca Medina was discovered by a canyon resident Sunday morning off Kagel Canyon Road, sheriff’s deputies said. In addition to the bullet wounds, Marian also suffered head injuries, Los Angeles County coroner’s spokeswoman Margaret White said.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives arrested the youth about 6:30 p.m. Monday, Deputy Benita Hinojos said. No motive was established and no weapon recovered, she said.

Marian’s uncle, Salvador Almaguer, said in an interview that the girl’s family believes she was kidnaped.

Almaguer said Marian, the oldest of three sisters who moved to Pacoima from Mexico three years ago, had been wounded in a drive-by shooting several months ago, and it was unusual for her not to come right home after school.

“She always was at home. . . . She never would leave, even with a friend,” Almaguer said. “She was a happy girl, who liked to dance and play. She didn’t have any problems and she wasn’t in a gang.”

Jerry Horowitz, principal of Richard E. Byrd Middle School, where Marian was enrolled in the ninth grade, said the girl’s parents called the school Friday looking for their daughter.

Horowitz said Marian had been reported absent from her classes Friday, which was unusual for her, an above-average student who had an excellent attendance record.