Toddler Dies of Her Injuries; Anaheim Police Arrest Man, 25

A 2-year-old girl died late Wednesday in Anaheim after suffering “massive trauma,” police said, and her mother’s live-in boyfriend was arrested in connection with the case.

The girl, Deserie Ruggiero, was pronounced dead at West Anaheim Medical Center. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance from the Rainbow Inn Motel after her mother and a motel employee tried to revive the girl, who was unconscious and bleeding from the head.

“The child was admitted in critical condition with massive trauma,” said Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez. “The injuries are certainly of the type that suggest it was not an accident.”

Police concluded that Deserie was “severely physically abused.”

The girl had been staying at the hotel with her 18-year-old mother and the suspect since Sunday night. The mother’s boyfriend, Frank Becerra, 25, was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of murder. The mother, whose name was not released, is not a suspect in the case, Martinez said.

Residents at the motel recalled hearing a commotion early Wednesday evening.

“I heard screaming and yelling and stuff,” said James Shelton, who rents a room above where the couple had been staying. “I just thought it was a domestic thing. And then 10 to 15 minutes later, I heard the firetrucks.”

Linda Abila, who works as a cleaner at the motel, said she saw Becerra outside the room, cradling the girl in his arms. Seconds later, the frantic mother drove up.

“She was hysterical, saying, ‘My baby’s not breathing. My baby’s not breathing,’ ” Abila said. “They were going to take her to the hospital in the car.”

Abila said she convinced the couple to bring the girl inside the office and call an ambulance. Abila said she checked the girl’s heartbeat and pulse.

“I thought I felt a pulse, and I thought I felt her breathe, but it was just kind of stop and go. Her lips were blue and she was so white.”

Abila said she rolled up a towel and placed it under her head and then noticed that the girl was bleeding from the back of the head.

“She also had some scrapes on her lip and a little bloody nose,” Abila said.

Residents at the motel expressed shock over Wednesday’s incident, calling the Rainbow Inn a quiet place with few problems. They popped in and out of their rooms Thursday morning, curious about the detectives who were in the couple’s room collecting evidence.