Woman Arrested in Death of Her 3-Year-Old Grandson

The grandmother of the 3-year-old North Hollywood boy found dead earlier this week has been arrested on suspicion of murder, police said Thursday.

Chi Chi Locci, 43, who had lived with her grandson Jordan Diggins and four other children, was arrested Wednesday.

“A 3-year-old child was beaten to death, and that’s a very sad thing,” said Capt. Kirk Albanese, commanding officer of the LAPD’s Juvenile Division.

A neighbor at the family’s apartment complex in the 7100 block of Coldwater Canyon Avenue, still in shock over the child’s death, described him as a quiet little boy who spent most of his time playing inside his home.

Jordan was pronounced dead by paramedics at his home shortly after midnight Monday.

Paramedics notified police after they noticed extensive injuries on his body, Albanese said. The boy had injuries to his face, and his abdomen was substantially injured and appeared swollen, police said.

The other children in Locci’s household--her 15-year-old twin sons, 12-year-old daughter and 1-year-old grandson--are now in the custody of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, Albanese said. None of those children showed any signs of abuse.

Locci is in custody at the 77th Street Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Jordan and his 1-year-old brother, whose mother lives in Florida, had been living with their grandmother for only a few months, according to police and a neighbor. Police do not know the whereabouts of their father.

Locci, who called paramedics, said that Jordan had fallen and hit his head. But investigators were suspicious.

“A fall can result in an injury. A fall could not have resulted in the extent of injuries this child suffered,” Albanese said.

An autopsy revealed that the boy died from blunt force trauma to his face, head and torso. Locci’s arrest followed an investigation by the Abused Child Unit of LAPD’s Juvenile Division.

*

Last year, 11 children in Los Angeles died from child abuse, Albanese said. Jordan is the second child in the city to die of suspected abuse this year.

Albanese urged the public to report any suspicions of child abuse to the LAPD Child Abuse Unit or their community police station.