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November 17, 2004
Murder charges filed in girl's death
By Amy Raisin Darvish, Staff Writer -- dailynews.com
SAN FERNANDO -- A man was charged Tuesday with capital murder and other felonies for the death of his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter, who was physically and sexually abused over a period of time, authorities said.
The girl's mother, Debbie Saravia, 26, also was charged with various felony counts of child abuse stemming from her daughter's Nov. 12 death in Castaic, where Saravia was working as a housekeeper. The couple also face charges for the alleged abuse of her 6-year-old son.
Saravia and Antonio Rodriguez, 23, who have been living in a Van Nuys motel room with her two children, were arrested Friday night after paramedics responded to a report of a girl having a seizure at a Castaic home.
Little Deserie Saravia -- who shares her mother's middle name -- was transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, where she was pronounced dead, according to the county Coroner's Office. Her cause of death is still being investigated.
"There were signs that the girl had been sexually abused," said Lt. Dave Smith of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's homicide division. "The boy was taken to an L.A.-area hospital that night. It was found that (the boy) was also abused. As far as we can tell, he was not sexually abused."
Smith said signs of abuse on the boy included bruising, marks from an electrical cord and an unidentified abrasion to his head.
Rodriguez is being held without bail and faces charges of murder with the special circumstance of torturing a child, child abuse and sexual abuse. Saravia, being held in lieu of $1 million bond, is charged with various counts of child abuse and neglect, Smith said.
The couple was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in San Fernando Superior Court, but the arraignment date was continued until Dec. 1, according to a court clerk.
The 6-year-old boy remains at a Los Angeles hospital under an alias, Smith said.
Posted by Nealus at November 17, 2004 11:40 AM
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