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LANCASTER (CNS) - An investigation was continuing Wednesday into the death of a young boy whose neck was slashed in Lancaster, and while no arrests have been made, sheriff's officials said the live-in boyfriend of the child's mother is a person of interest in the case.
Deputies responded just before 11 p.m. Tuesday to the 43400 block of 57th Street West on a medical rescue call, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. When they arrived, deputies found a victim described only as a "male juvenile" suffering from a "laceration to the neck."
The child, believed to be 3 years old, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Sheriff's officials were investigating the death as a homicide. The Los Angeles Times, citing unnamed sources, said the boy was found in a bathtub with his throat cut. The body was found by a family friend who went to the home at the behest of one of the boy's relatives, the paper reported.
According to the sheriff's department, deputies who responded to the home also found Rena Naulls, 39, at the home suffering from a "medical emergency." Naulls, the live-in boyfriend of the child's mother, tried "to take his own life" at the home, sheriff's officials said. He was taken to a hospital where he is considered to be stable, according to the sheriff's department.
"Mr. Naulls has been identified as a person of interest in this matter," sheriff's officials said in a statement. They stressed the no arrests have been made.
According to the sheriff's department, there where three other children in home. All were unharmed and were placed in the custody of the county Department of Children and Family Services. The Times reported those children are aged 9, 11 and 14.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. Tipsters may also use the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.