A 5-year-old California girl was allegedly tortured to death by her mother and her grandmother who were arrested on Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder.
Police officers were at the home of Vanessa C. Rangel, 37, and Hilaria Rangel, 55, on Sept. 8 at around 7:53 p.m. over reports of an unresponsive child.
Medics tried to revive the unresponsive girl before eventually pronouncing her dead at the scene.
Investigators determined that the child’s injuries were the results of alleged torture and contacted the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Central Homicide Unit.
The mom was arrested at the scene while Hilaria was located at a separate residence in Coachella Tuesday evening.
They both were charged with first-degree murder and assault on a child resulting in death in addition to four counts of willfully harming a child.
Vanessa faces additional charges of second-degree murder and torture. They were booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio.
