Parkland mother, her boyfriend arrested on suspicion of child’s murder
A Parkland mother and her boyfriend were arrested by Pierce County deputies over the weekend for investigation of homicide by abuse after the woman’s 2-year-old child died at her apartment.
The 29-year-old boyfriend was arrested Friday and the 21-year-old mother was arrested Sunday by Pierce County Sheriff’s Department deputies, according to a news release. They were booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of homicide by abuse and murder.
Deputies were called to the couple’s apartment complex about 8:15 p.m. Friday after a 911 caller told dispatchers a 2-year-old girl at the apartment at 114 129th St. S. in Parkland was not breathing.
Deputies and other emergency responders were dispatched, but the child died. An autopsy was performed Saturday, and the Pierce County medical examiner found the child died by homicide.
When deputies spoke to the child’s parents, they learned there was a protection order in place between the mother’s boyfriend and two children in the home, according to the news release. There was also an active investigation by the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families into abuse by the boyfriend.
The 29-year-old man was arrested for investigation of third-degree assault of a child related to that child abuse case.
Detectives interviewed the boyfriend again on Sunday and learned more about how the 2-year-old child was injured, giving them probable cause to charge him and the mother with the child’s murder.
The mother and her boyfriend were expected to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Pierce County Superior Court.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 10:18 AM.
