A man has been charged with murder and other counts stemming from the death of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son at her Lancaster home last month, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Rena Lydell Naulls, 39, is set to be arraigned April 24 in a Lancaster courtroom on one count each of murder, assault on a child causing death and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The charges include an allegation that Naulls personally used a knife during the commission of the attack Feb. 20.
David Jacques Hernandez of Lancaster died at a hospital, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner reported.
The Los Angeles Times, citing unnamed sources, reported last month that the boy was found in a bathtub with his throat cut.
Deputies who responded to the home found Naulls suffering from a “medical emergency,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Naulls tried “to take his own life” at the home, where the boy lived with his three older siblings, who were not harmed, sheriff’s officials said.
Naulls — who was initially identified as a “person of interest” — was taken to a hospital, officials said.
Naulls was moved March 4 to Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where he remains behind bars, jail records show.
The case against him was filed Thursday, according to court records.
“My heart is broken for the toddler whose life was taken before he even had a chance to go out and live,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement announcing the charges. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginably difficult time. We will pursue justice for the victim and his family with unwavering determination.”