FILLMORE : Coroner Says Girl, 3, Was Beaten to Death
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Coroner’s officials said Sunday that a 3-year-old Nevada girl whose body was found in a canyon near Fillmore had been beaten to death.
Following a 5 1/2-hour autopsy Sunday morning, the Ventura County coroner’s office determined that Mailin Thao Stafford died from abdominal injuries characterized as part of battered child syndrome, Deputy Coroner Mitch Breese said.
The girl’s stepfather and mother, Carlos Perez Gutierrez and Tara Ray Gutierrez of Reno, have been arrested on suspicion of murdering the girl and are being held without bail in the Washoe County Jail.
Although the mother reported Mailin missing Thursday, the stepfather later admitted to police that the girl had died Wednesday after he had beaten her.
Police said Gutierrez and the girl’s mother drove Mailin’s body to Grimes Canyon Road between Fillmore and Moorpark and threw it down a steep hillside. Although Gutierrez later led police to the area, police said Sunday that they were not certain why the couple made the 10-hour drive to dump the girl’s body there.
Ventura County sheriff’s deputies joined Reno police in searching the area and found the girl’s body about 10 a.m. Saturday.
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