Slain Napa girl: No pleas entered yet by mother, boyfriend
A Napa mother and her boyfriend accused of beating the woman’s 3-year-old daughter to death did not enter pleas in court Tuesday after being charged with murder.
Sara Krueger, 23, and Ryan Scott Warner, 26, were ordered to return to court Feb. 25 after Judge Michael Williams appointed lawyers to represent them, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
They were being held without bail in the death of Kayleigh Slusher. They admitted to police that they hid the girl’s body in a suitcase inside a freezer for three days, according to court documents released Tuesday.
Kayleigh’s body was found in her bed Saturday by police officers, authorities said.
The criminal complaint accuses the couple of killing Kayleigh on Thursday, the day after police had visited the apartment to check on her.
Kayleigh had suffered blunt-force trauma and appeared to have been sexually assaulted, said Napa police Lt. Debbie Peecook.
The couple were charged with murder and assault on a child resulting in death. Neither faces allegations of sexual assault, though such charges could be added later.
The couple was detained Sunday by BART police. The court documents released Tuesday allege that the couple, after being transferred to the custody of Napa police, confessed to hiding Kayleigh’s body.
Kayleigh’s father, Jason Slusher, 33, is serving a prison sentence in San Quentin.
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