Oxnard Couple Arrested After Allegedly Strangling Newborn Baby Inside Hospital

OXNARD (CBSLA) — A woman and her boyfriend were arrested Friday evening after a newborn baby died from strangulation shortly after being born, authorities said.

Oxnard police officers responded to St. John's Medical Center at 1600 N. Rose Ave shortly before 8 a.m. to reports of a suspicious injury.

Upon their arrival, officers learned that a newborn infant was in critical condition with suspicious injuries.

Family Protection Unit detectives were arrived to assist in the investigation and determined that the victim's mother, 20-year-old Andrea Torralba, and her boyfriend, 21-year-old David Villa, strangled the victim until he was unconscious.

According to Sgt. Brandon Ordelheide, Torralba had given birth to the baby in the hospital, and she and Villa later admitted to police that they had strangled the newborn.

Police stated in a press release that, "Medical staff was notified that the infant was unresponsive and, despite the efforts of the medical team, the infant succumbed to his injuries."

Torralba and Villa were both arrested for felony assault on a child by means of force resulting in the child's death and their bail has been set at $1,000,000.

St. John's Medical Center released a statement Saturday saying,

"While we deal with tragedies every day, the  staff at St. John's Regional Medical Center are devastated by the alleged incident. In the midst of this investigation, it is timely to  remind our community of California's Safe Surrender Law wherein: Newborn infants can be dropped off at any safe surrender site such as hospitals, fire stations and police stations, within 72 hours of birth, with no questions asked. According to the California Department of Social Services, "From January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2017,  931 newborns have been surrendered in California, and 88 newborns were surrendered during the 2017 calendar year." For information about Safe Surrender Sites a toll-free anonymous hotline number provides information and locations of Safe Surrender Sites: dial 877.BABY.SAF (1-877-222-9723)."