The mother of a 15-month-old child found mortally wounded inside a Santa Monica apartment was charged Thursday with murder and assault on a child causing death.
Carmen Anita Degregg, 24, is expected to be arraigned Friday in downtown Los Angeles.
Degregg was arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of her child, who was found that morning in an apartment in the Pico Neighborhood of Santa Monica. She remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail, according to jail records.
Police were notified shortly before 11:54 a.m. Tuesday that UCLA Police had detained a woman on campus after she made statements indicating she had harmed her child and left the infant inside an apartment in the 2000 block of Broadway, according to Santa Monica police.
Officers responded to the residence, where the child was found inside an apartment with “significant injuries,” police said.
Santa Monica Fire Department personnel took the child to a hospital, where the victim was pronounced dead, police said.
The name and gender of the child were not immediately released. It remained unclear if Degregg has any connection with UCLA as a student or employee.
Santa Monica Police Lt. Lewis Gilmour said he could not confirm media reports that indicated a frying pan was involved in the child’s death.
Police said the cause and manner of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Degregg faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.