Sketches released of suspects in kidnapping, murder of Calif. infant
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Police in Long Beach, Calif. released sketches Wednesday of two suspects wanted in the unsolved January kidnapping and murder of a 3-week-old infant, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Officials say the case began when authorities responded to a Long Beach home at around 6 p.m. on January 3 and found two brothers and the infant's mother with gunshot wounds. One of the brothers was the father of the infant.
The infant - Eliza Delacruz - was nowhere to be found.
It wasn't until a day later that the child's body was found in a dumpster near the Mexico border, more than 120 miles from her home.
No arrests have been made in the case and authorities have not commented on a potential motive, except to say they do not believe the shooting was a random act. They also have not commented on the child's cause of death.
The child's mother and father, as well as the other shooting victim, survived. CBS Los Angeles reports the three were only recently well enough to talk to authorities about the hours leading up to the shooting and kidnapping.
During their investigation, authorities say they obtained surveillance video showing the female victim carrying the infant off of a bus, just hours before the crime took place.
Police say a female driver of a black SUV with large black rims -- believed to be a 2006 to 2011 Range Rover -- pulled up next to the mother and the infant as they walked home from the bus stop. The female driver reportedly asked the mother about the infant.
"...After watching the video, from the bus company and what we released, it is clear that that female and that Range Rover were definitely involved," Long Beach Police Lt. Lloyd Cox told the station.
Detectives describe the woman in the Range Rover as an African American woman around 40-years-old with long, dark, curly hair and a heavy-set build. They say the woman was wearing a pair of black designer sunglasses on her head.
Authorities say a male suspect later broke into the victim's Long Beach home and shot the three adults before taking the baby. The male suspect is described by police as a dark-skinned Hispanic or African American man.
Police say the licence plate on the Range Rover was unidentifiable on the surveillance video. They say they sent the video to the FBI in Washington, D.C. so that it could be enhanced.
In the meantime, authorities say they obtained a list of all Range Rovers registered in the Southern California area and are contacting owners who match the description of the suspect seen in the vehicle.
A $25,000 reward is reportedly being offered for information leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact authorities at (562) 570-7244.