Mother Charged With Abuse, Neglect in March ’02 Death of Anaheim Girl

A former Anaheim woman was charged Friday with child abuse and neglect in the death of her 13-month-old daughter, a move applauded by police and community activists who said they have waited more than a year for one of the girl’s parents to be held accountable.

Jacquelyn Gutierrez, 22, was arrested in Corona, where she moved shortly after the girl’s death. She was being held in Anaheim City Jail on $25,000 bond on suspicion of three felony counts of child abuse, with an enhancement on the final count that alleges Samantha Rose Gutierrez died of neglect on March 26, 2002. If convicted, the mother would face up to 12 1/2 years in prison.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Gundy said murder charges were not filed because there was no evidence to show that the young mother of four intended to cause Samantha’s death, or that she was aware that poor care could endanger the girl.

“We do believe the mother was responsible for the daughter’s death, but she didn’t want to kill the child,” Gundy said.

The parents could not be reached for comment.

Gutierrez also could have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, but Gundy said the child-abuse counts carry more prison time.

Police, political leaders and child-safety advocates welcomed the decision to file charges. Delays in the case arising from inconsistencies in the cause of the girl’s death fueled a heated debate over whether prosecutors were moving too slowly.

“I was very concerned, because of the length of time, that this had been put on the backburner, or that it wasn’t going to be charged at all,” said Richard Chavez, an Anaheim councilman and former firefighter who was among those answering the 911 call when Samantha died. “I believe they’re moving forward aggressively, and finally justice can be served for this baby that was extremely mistreated.”

Anaheim police had pushed for murder charges.

“We recognize ... this is the strongest case we can get,” said Sgt. Rick Martinez. “We can only hope the justice system will find her guilty of what she’s charged with. There were people in the community who were frustrated with the system, and we were frustrated too. But we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that there’s still that poor, little kid. And she’s dead. And this is not going to bring her back.”

The Orange County coroner’s office ruled Samantha’s death a homicide in August, citing “maternal neglect” in concluding that she was starved and neglected. The autopsy found bruises on her scalp, fluid on the brain and repeated fractures to her right elbow.

But those findings were disputed by doctors who examined Samantha prior to her death and by a private pathologist hired by her parents.

The three felony counts reflect separate periods of abuse in October 2001, December 2001 and March 2002, Gundy said. The father will not be charged because there is not enough evidence against him, Gundy said, noting that Samantha’s mother was the primary caretaker.

The three other children are in the custody of Social Services.