4-year-old dies after being strangled, Washington cops say. Now stepmom is arrested
A 25-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after her 4-year-old stepson was strangled in Washington, police said.
The woman took her unresponsive stepson to a hospital in Yakima on Jan. 12 where medical staff performed CPR on the child for 30 minutes, the Yakima Police Department said in a news release.
The hospital got a call around 11 p.m. that a child was being brought in, police said.
Once the woman reached the hospital, an officer saw “large bruises” on the child’s body, police said.
Detectives interviewed the woman and she “admitted to strangling the child” at their home, police said.
“At this point, the boy’s father, who was at work at the time of the incident, is not a suspect in the homicide,” Yakima Police Department Capt. Jay Seely said in the news release. “This is such a tragic end to this young child’s life. I want to commend the Memorial Hospital staff for their work and the Special Assault Unit detectives who worked through the night investigating this case.”
Police said Child Protective Services removed two other children from the home after the woman’s arrest.
An autopsy will be conducted on the child on Jan. 14. The child’s name was not released.
To report child abuse in Washington, there’s a statewide hotline that can be reached at 866-363-4276. It’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
