Girl’s Fall From Cliff at Palos Verdes Now Called a Homicide

The death of a 4-year-old Huntington Beach girl, who plunged 300 feet off a cliff at the Palos Verdes Peninsula, is now considered a homicide, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said Saturday.

Deputies would not say what raised their suspicions about the Nov. 8 death of Lauren Key-Marer, who fell while on a hike with her father.

The girl’s father, Cameron Brown, told detectives his daughter slipped and fell off a rocky bluff while the two were hiking on a winding trail, taking in the ocean view. Brown, 39, said he did not have time to catch her.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Martinez said detectives have not classified Brown as a suspect.

“He was there at the time. However, they haven’t announced his name as a suspect at this time,” Martinez said. “They are investigating all leads in the case and are looking at all potential suspects.”

One day after the girl’s death, sheriff’s deputies announced that homicide investigators would take a look at the case. But there was no public indication that the child’s death was actually being investigated as a homicide before Saturday.

“There’s no way in the world I would expect any person to be up here with a child, especially not one under their grasp or control,” Sheriff Det. Danny Smith said after the death. “It’s incredible. Just to get to the trail is enough to make one’s stomach turn.”

On Nov. 15, sheriff’s deputies returned to the area to distribute fliers and interview possible witnesses. Deputies said Saturday that they are trying to contact a woman who spoke to a deputy that day, but did not leave her name. They released a sketch of the woman, hoping she would call detectives. The woman was driving a silver minivan and had two small children in her vehicle.