Man Is Held in Death of Stepson, 10

Police arrested a 26-year-old Anaheim man on suspicion of murder after finding the body of his 10-year-old stepson in a bloody rear bedroom of their apartment Saturday afternoon, Anaheim police said.

The stepfather, Efrain Loza Arteaga, called 911 around 2 p.m. and reported an injured person in the family’s second-floor apartment in the 1800 block of Sallie Lane, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas.

But Vargas said something about the conversation with dispatchers was suspicious. Officers arrived at the scene with guns drawn, and ordered Arteaga out of the house. Vargas declined to say what created the suspicion.

Witnesses said that when Arteaga surrendered, his clothing was bloody. The stepfather, a mechanic, is being held on $250,000 bail at Anaheim Detention Facility and will be arraigned Tuesday at the earliest, Vargas said.

Police found the body of Francisco Meza, a fifth-grader at James Madison Elementary School who was known to friends and family as “Frankie,” shortly after Arteaga surrendered.

The crime scene was particularly gruesome, Vargas said, but he declined to speculate on the cause of death. The county coroner’s office will perform an autopsy today.

“It’s really bad, even for the detectives,” Vargas said. “Human beings are supposed to care for their children and keep them safe and secure. When something like this happens, it really affects everybody involved. The image of a child victim stays with you the rest of your career. It’s disturbing to all the officers.”

Family members, including the mother, were aiding in the investigation.

A stepcousin clutching a small child showed up at the apartment complex Saturday afternoon and tore through the crowd gathered outside. As police told her what happened, she leaned against a building, sank to the ground and wept.

Late Saturday, the young boy’s body remained in the apartment as police waited for a judge’s signature on a search warrant.

The family had lived at the small apartment complex for about a year and a half. They were quiet tenants, said complex manager Larry Adams, their next-door neighbor.

Adams, who was in his apartment Saturday afternoon, said he was baffled because he had not heard any noises coming from the Arteagas’ apartment before police arrived, despite the fact that his door was open.

“‘That’s the thing that puzzles me--I heard no scuffling, no hollering,” Adams said. “I didn’t hear anything.”

Adams said he spoke to Arteaga briefly Friday evening. He seemed happy and told Adams that he had just helped his stepson with his schoolwork for the first time.

Adams said the youngster often came over to play computer games with Adams’ 14-year-old son, Jason.

He said the youth was seen frequently around the apartment complex whizzing around on roller-blades. Friends said he also enjoyed baseball, bicycles and video games.

“He was friendly,” said Jose Florez. “He invited us to his house to play Playstation.”

Raquel Sanchez, 15, had helped prepare him for his first communion. “He was a smart kid, a fast learner,” she said.

Francisco spent Friday afternoon playing with Adriana and Maria Cortes, 11 and 13, and Stacy Bautista, 11, in a nearby apartment complex.

He spent the afternoon with the trio, creating silly songs to accompany a wrestling television show, racing and playing other games.

“He was laughing,” Adriana Cortes said.

On Friday, Francisco graduated from a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, a drug-awareness program for schoolkids, Vargas said. Police are trying to have a DARE officer in Francisco’s classroom on Monday to help students. A school worker said she believes there will also be grief counselors on hand.

Saturday evening, dozens of children were darting between police cars and media satellite vans parked near Francisco’s home, seemingly oblivious to the tragedy that occurred.

“I don’t think very many grasp it yet,” Vargas said. “They see a lot of attention. But when they show up in school and see their friend’s not there, it will sink in that something bad has happened.”