Authorities have released the identity of a 3-year-old boy who was killed in his Lancaster home Tuesday night, describing his mother's boyfriend as someone involved in the killing.
The toddler, David Hernandez, was found with his throat cut in the 43400 block of West 57th Street when deputies arrived around 10:55 p.m., officials said. He was declared dead at the hospital.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported his manner of death as homicide and caused a “cut wound to the neck.”
Rena Knowles, 39, of Lancaster, was taken to the hospital after attempting to kill herself at the scene, the Sheriff's Department said in a news release.
Investigators said Knowles is the live-in boyfriend of the victim's mother and described him as a “person of interest” in the case. Police said Noll was hospitalized and was in stable condition.
The Times previously reported that a source familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly said a family friend went to the home at the request of a relative of the boy, found the child slaughtered in the bathtub and called 911.
Three of the child's older siblings, ages 9, 11 and 14, were not injured and were taken into custody by the Department of Children and Family Services, according to the source and the Sheriff's Department. The family had no previous contact with the Department of Children and Family Services, the Times reported.
No arrests have been made.
