BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Scripps News Bakersfield) — Police discovered the body of an 8-year-old girl in a hotel bathtub after responding to a possible medical emergency at the La Quinta Inn on Riverside Drive.
Exterior of a motel where an 8-year-old was found dead in a bathtub. (Scripps News Bakersfield)
Officers were called to the hotel at 5:37 p.m. on August 2 for reports that a child might be unconscious and not breathing. When they arrived, they received no response and found the bathroom door locked, forcing them to break in.
Inside, they discovered the deceased child, who had been abandoned and showed signs of substantial trauma to her body.
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The investigation led to the identification and arrest of Ray Mata Jr., 31, of Bakersfield and Graciela Bustamonte, 27, of Delano, as suspects in the case.
Both suspects have been booked into Kern County Jail on charges of murder, torture and multiple counts of child abuse.
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This story was originally published by Scripps News Bakersfield, an E.W. Scripps Company.
