Father arrested in death of 4-year-old girl in Los Angeles
A 23-year-old Los Angeles man has been arrested and accused of child abuse in connection with his daughter’s death, police said.
Charles Richard Lee is being held on suspicion of felony child abuse after his 4-year-old daughter was pronounced dead at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center on Sunday night, according to a news release issued by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Detectives launched an investigation about 11 a.m. Sunday after they were contacted by hospital staff about a 4-year-old girl who was brought in by ambulance, police said. The girl had been rushed to the hospital from a home in the 1500 block of East 42nd Street, authorities said.
Los Angeles County coroner’s officials on Monday identified the girl as Zaraellia Thompson. She was pronounced dead at the hospital at 11:34 a.m. Her cause of death has not yet been determined.
Investigators have submitted a case to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for review. Lee was booked around 9:30 a.m. Monday and is being held in lieu of $1-million bail, according to online jail records.
Detectives told KABC-TV Channel 7 that the girl was found in a bathroom, but it didn’t appear that she had drowned.
Follow @Hannahnfry and @JamesQueallyLAT on Twitter for breaking news in Southern California.
UPDATES:
2:35 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the arrest of Charles Richard Lee.
This article was originally published at 11:40 a.m.
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