Case of Starved Anaheim Baby Is Bound for D.A.’s Office
Anaheim police on Tuesday concluded their investigation into the starvation of a year-old girl and plan to turn over the case to the district attorney’s office, which will determine whether to file murder charges.
Samantha Rose Gutierrez died in March at her parents’ Anaheim home.
The postmortem exam concluded that Samantha died of ketoacidosis, an imbalance of acids in the blood caused by starvation and neglect. The coroner found bruises on the child’s scalp, fluid on the brain caused by swelling, and repeated fractures of the girl’s right elbow.
Police Sgt. Mike Hidalgo would not reveal details of the investigation or identify any suspects. No arrests have been made.
“It will go to the D.A.’s office this week. Then it will go under review. Once they have decided who to charge, [detectives] will draw up the warrant and make the arrest,” Hidalgo said.
The autopsy confirmed the suspicions of officials at Eli Home, a private, nonprofit child welfare agency in Anaheim that had contacted police and county social workers about the possible abuse of Samantha.
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