Grandmother Charged With Murder of Boy, 4
A 54-year-old grandmother was charged with murder Wednesday in the beating death of her 4-year-old grandson, who died in a home visited two weeks ago by child welfare investigators investigating a report of child abuse.
Theda Rice of Lakewood was arrested Monday after paramedics and deputies arrived at her apartment in the 11400 block of East 215th Street to find her grandson, Daniel Hillman, tied up on the floor and “unconscious and badly beaten,” said Sheriff’s Deputy George Ducoulombier. The youngster died an hour later at Pioneer Hospital in Artesia.
Rice, who was being held without bail, was the youngster’s legal guardian, said Emery Bontregar, spokesman for the county Children’s Services Department. An investigator visited Rice’s home the day before Thanksgiving and found no evidence of abuse, Bontregar said.
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