The Region : Woman Held in Son’s Death Gives Birth

An Oceanside woman gave birth to a boy just a few hours after she and her husband were arrested in the beating death of their 23-month-old son. Josephine Mesa, 18, was booked on suspicion of murder and her husband, Marine Lance Cpl. Paul Mesa, 20, on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime, shortly after two men rummaging for cans found the battered body of Paul Anthony Mesa in a dumpster near the couple’s apartment. Officers said old wounds on the infant’s body indicated that the mother had been beating the baby for a long time. The woman’s eldest son, 32-month-old Paul Sanchez, also showed signs of battering, and was turned over to San Diego County’s juvenile receiving home. The woman gave birth to her third child at Tri-City Medical Center.