7-year-old girl found dead in bathtub in Van Nuys; mother arrested

A Van Nuys woman was arrested on Friday night after her 7-year-old daughter was found dead in the bathtub of their apartment, police said Saturday, April 12.

The mother, described only as a woman in her 30s, was taken into custody without incident, Los Angeles Police Department Officer David Cuellar said.

Officers were called to the 6800 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, where they found the girl unresponsive in the bathtub. The girl was presumed to have been drowned or strangled, Cuellar said.

It was not immediately known who called the police department. Further information, including the woman’s identity, was not available.

In 2021, Liliana Carrillo was arrested on suspicion of drowning her three children in Reseda. She claimed that she had taken her childrens’ lives to protect them because she feared their abuse and sexual assault at the hands of others. Carrillo was later declared insane at the time of the drownings.

In March, an 11-year-old boy was found dead with multiple stab wounds in a room at the La Quinta Inn on Hotel Terrace in Santa Ana. Police found the boy on a bed and surrounded by Disneyland souvenirs. His mother, who had been in a custody battle with the boy’s father, was arrested.