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Napa woman, boyfriend arrested in death of her 3-year-old daughter

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The mother of a 3-year-old girl who was found dead in her Napa apartment has been arrested along with her boyfriend.

Kayleigh Slusher was found dead in her bed about 1 p.m. Saturday by officers conducting a welfare check in response to an anonymous tip, according to a news release from the Napa Police Department.

Napa police said Kayleigh’s body showed signs of blunt force trauma and there was “preliminary evidence of a sexual assault.”

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Her mother, Sara Krueger, 23, was reportedly seen leaving the area with 26-year-old Ryan Warner about three hours before police arrived.

After police released photos of the pair, they were spotted at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station the next day and arrested without incident.

Napa police Lt. Debbie Peecook said police would seek to have Krueger and Warner charged with homicide with special circumstances and assault resulting in a child’s death, according to the Napa Valley Register.

The special circumstances allegation would allow for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole -- or the death penalty if Napa County prosecutors decide to pursue capital punishment in the case.

Kayleigh’s father, Jason Slusher, 33, is currently serving a prison sentence in San Quentin, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Family and friends held a candlelight vigil Sunday outside the apartment to mourn Kayleigh’s death.

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“You can’t imagine what I’m going through,” her grandfather, John Kreuger, told KGO-TV. “The proudest moment of my life is gone forever and there’s nothing we can do or say that’s going to bring her back.”

An apartment manager told the station that she and other neighbors had suspected the couple was using drugs and that they had “hardly ever seen the girl play outside anymore.”

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Twitter: @aribloomekatz | Facebook

ari.bloomekatz@latimes.com

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