generic Aunt of dead Coachella child turns herself in, charged with one felony count of murder
The aunt of a 5-year-old child who police found dead in Coachella has turned herself in, and was subsequently arrested for murder and child endangerment and booked at the John Benoit Detention Center, authorities said late Monday.
Maria Silva, 38, of Coachella, surrendered to the Thermal Sheriff’s Station on Friday, according to a press release from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
City News Service reported that, according to court records, the mother of the victim, 37-year-old Vanessa Cervantes Rangel, the grandmother of the victim, 55-year-old Hilaria Rangel, and Silva were all charged Friday morning with one felony count of murder and a misdemeanor count of abuse endangering an 11-year-old boy. Vanessa was additionally charged with two felony counts, one each of assault on a child under 8 resulting in death, and torture.
According to court records, Vanessa and Hilaria Rangel were also each charged with three additional misdemeanor counts of abuse endangering a child. Among the other children included was a 13-year-old girl, a 6-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy.
The relationships with the other children were not disclosed.
The arrests came after Riverside County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to provide medical aid at a home in the 50-400 block of South Kenmore Street Sept. 8. Deputies and medics performed life-saving measures, but the child died at the scene.
The department’s Thermal Station Investigations Bureau and Central Homicide Unit opened an investigation “due to the circumstances of the death,” according to a department press release.
Vanessa was arrested around 7 p.m. Tuesday in the 51-500 block of Date Street in Coachella as deputies were serving a search warrant.
Hilaria was arrested by Coachella police officers in the Miro Lane area, according to booking information.
The identify of the child will not be released, according to the department.
If anyone has information regarding this ongoing investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Lopez of the Thermal Station at 760–863–8990 or Investigator Alfaro of the Central Homicide Unit at 760-393-3528.
Janet Wilson is a staff writer at The Desert Sun. She can be reached at jwilson@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Aunt of dead Coachella child surrenders to authorities
