[UPDATED with Charges Against Mother Lucero Carrera:] Kimberly Gutierrez, OC Homicide No. 22: 2-Month-Old Drowned

See update at end of post about charges against 2-month-old Kimberly Gutierrez's mother, Lucero Carrera.


ORIGINAL POST, JULY 2, 9:57 A.M.: A grandmother who'd stepped out to go to the market returned to her Santa Ana mobile home Friday afternoon to find her 2-month-old granddaughter drowning in a whirlpool bathtub, while the baby's mother was passed out in a back bedroom.

Resuscitation efforts failed, and the baby girl died. After gathering evidence and interviews at the home, Santa Ana Police conclude the death was a homicide and the mother is the main suspect.

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No identities have been released.

After finding the girl, the grandmother pulled the 2-month-old out of the tub and carried the wet child in her arms as she screamed for help. A neighbor, who KABC Eyewitness News identified as Jonathan Cruz, rushed over and called 9-1-1 around 4 p.m. Friday. The dispatcher gave Cruz CPR instructions, and the baby threw up water and blood.

However, the baby was already dead when first responders arrived at the
Country Club mobile home park at 518 S. Sullivan St. at 4:22
p.m. An autopsy is scheduled today.

Paramedics rushed the 2-month-old's unresponsive mother to a local hospital, where she was admitted into the intensive care unit. Her condition is unknown at this hour. Police say their investigators were told the mother battled depression and that unspecified medication prescribed to her was found in the bedroom.

Besides the baby, mother and grandmother, the mobile home was occupied by two other parents and three teen boys. But the grandmother told police her daughter and granddaughter were alone in the home before she left for the market and after she returned.

Police concluded homicide charges against the mother will be sought from the district attorney.


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UPDATE, JULY 3, 1:21 P.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) announced today that Lucero Carrera has been charged with murdering her 2-month-old baby girl by
drowning her in the bathtub of their Santa Ana mobile home.

The 27-year-old faces felony counts of murder and assault on a child with force
likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death–and the possibility of life in state prison with a conviction.

Currently held in lieu of $1 million bail, Carrera was scheduled to be arraigned this
afternoon in Santa Ana.

According to an OCDA statement, Carrera filled the whirlpool-style tub about halfway with water around 4:20 p.m. Friday and “intentionally”
murdered Kimberly Gutierrez by drowning the baby. The mother then ingested a large quantity of pills, prosecutors allege.

Carrera's mother arrived home from shopping to find Kimberly face-down in the bathtub, according to the OCDA.

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