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Father, stepmother charged in death of 16-year-old Pomona boy
San Gabriel Valley Jun 03, 2021
| Photo courtesy of Pomona Police Department
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Murder and torture charges were filed Thursday against a Pomona woman charged with killing her 16-year-old stepson, whose father is accused of being aware that the boy was being abused but did nothing to stop it.
Officers were called to the 600 block of Del Rosa Place at about noon Tuesday on reports of an individual in need of CPR and found the teenager not breathing, according to a Pomona Police Department statement. The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Homicide investigators allege that the youth had been assaulted by his 35-year-old stepmother, Jessica Grajeda, just before the medical assistance call was made. The detectives also determined that the boy had been subjected to “significant injuries from abuse,” allegedly inflicted by Grajeda, prior to the Tuesday call, according to the police statement.
The boy’s 32-year-old father, George Almaraz Flores, knew what was happening to his son and did not take any action to thwart the abuse or seek medical attention for the boy, police and prosecutors allege.
Five additional children ranging in age from 1 to 13 years old were found in the home, though there was no evidence to suggest that they had also been abused, police said. The children were taken into protective custody and turned over to the county Department of Children and Family Services.
Grajeda is charged with one count each of murder, torture and child abuse resulting in death, along with three counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions other than great bodily injury or death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Flores is charged with one count of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, the D.A.’s office reported.
Grajeda is being held on $2 million bail, and Flores was released with electronic monitoring.
Both defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at the Pomona courthouse.
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