Infant Dead, Found Naked, Unconscious With Mother, Sister In South LA Parking Lot
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A baby girl was pronounced dead Thursday after she was found naked, unconscious and covered in white powder along with a woman and an older girl in the parking lot of a South Los Angeles market.
Officers went to South San Pedro and East 23rd streets at 1:44 a.m. on the report of a woman screaming, Los Angeles police officials said. The three were found naked on the ground of the Numero Uno market parking lot, covered in a white powder and not breathing, LAPD Capt. Michael Rimkunas said.
The baby, believed to be 1 to 2 months old, was declared dead at a local hospital. She was found with an 8-year-old girl and a 26-year-old woman, believed to be the mother of both girls and a resident of the area who may have walked to the location, police said.
"It is devastating when you're dealing with children," Rimkunas said.
Both the woman and the 8-year-old girl are hospitalized, but the girl is in critical condition. Police said it was not immediately clear what happened to them, or what injuries they may have suffered.
A hazmat team was called in to process the white powder, which was later determined to be a combination of baby powder and baby formula.
"There is quite a lot of the substance on the ground," he said.
The woman had been seen recently, acting somewhat strangely. Sumhee Chung, who works at a nearby liquor store, said the woman came into her store with the older girl just the day before.
"She don't even comb [her] hair, and no shoes," Chung said.
The victims showed no obvious signs of injury, according to police, who were planning to review surveillance video at the scene and are looking for witnesses.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)