Mother, Stepfather Held in Girl’s Death

The mother and stepfather of a 6-year-old Downey girl were arrested Sunday on suspicion of murdering her, police said.

Bertha Rodriguez, 25, and Guillermo Cruz, 28, were arrested early Sunday morning, about five hours after the death of Bertha Juliana Marin, said Downey police Sgt. Randy Wells.

A preliminary examination, Wells said, indicated that the girl, who had Down’s syndrome, had been physically abused.

The girl’s death was the second on Saturday believed to have been caused by abusive parents. A 18-month-old Palmdale girl died of head injuries after being thrown against a wall, investigators said.

Police and paramedics were called to a house in the 13100 block of Barlin Avenue at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday.

When they arrived, the child was unconscious and not breathing, Wells said. She was taken to Downey Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 11:59 p.m., he said.

“Their preliminary story to us,” Wells said of the mother and stepfather, “was that [the child] felt sick, that she had the flu or something.” The Palmdale toddler, Alicia Browne, died Saturday morning at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in Lancaster, where she had been admitted Thursday in critical condition with head injuries.

Sheriff’s Deputy Diana Hecht said investigators believe that the girl’s father, Dereck Browne, 32, threw her against a wall after she spilled food on a living room couch at their E Avenue home.

Browne and his wife, Katherine Basura, 35, were arrested Friday on suspicion of child abuse, Hecht said, adding that detectives intend to recommend murder charges against Browne.