A young Inglewood father was behind bars Tuesday in connection with the death of his year-old daughter, whose body was found in the Los Angeles River in Long Beach.
Jayveyon Burley, 22, was being held in lieu of $215,000 bail, according to county jail records, following his arrest Monday by Inglewood police.
According to police, the suspect went to Long Beach on Sunday to pick up his two children, but he only had one child with him when he returned home. A subsequent search led to the discovery of the infant in shallow water in the Los Angeles River near the Ocean Boulevard bridge.
Family members identified the child as Leilani Dream Burley.
Police said the suspect lives with his mother in the 300 block of North Market Street in Inglewood, and she contacted police late Sunday night out of concern for her missing granddaughter. The suspect was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder and child endangerment after the child’s body was found.
The mother of Burley’s children, Lynisha Hull, told ABC7 Tuesday that the suspect normally picks up the children on Sunday nights and brings them back on Wednesday. She said Burley was “angry” when he picked up the children on Sunday, but “he was normal.”
“He didn’t look like he was panicked at the time at all,” she told the station.
“My daughter was murdered by her father,” Hull said. “He threw her off the bridge.”
Inglewood police asked anyone with information to contact investigators at 310-412-5246.
