Authorities have released the identity of a 3-year-old boy who was murdered in his Lancaster home Tuesday night and described his mother’s boyfriend as a person of interest in the brutal murder.
The boy, David Hernandez, was found with his throat cut in the 43400 block of 57th Street W when officers arrived around 10:55 p.m., authorities said. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner reported that the manner of death was homicide and the cause was “an incised wound to the neck.”
The Sheriff’s Department said in a news release that Rena Naulls, 39, of Lancaster, was transported to the hospital after allegedly attempting to take her own life at the scene.
Investigators said Naulls is the boyfriend of the victim’s mother and named him “a person of interest” in the case. Naulls was admitted to the hospital and is in stable condition, police said.
The Times previously reported that a source with knowledge of the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly said a family friend went to the home at the behest of one of the boy’s relatives and found the boy with his throat slit in a bathtub. and called 911.
Three of the boy’s older siblings, ages 9, 11 and 14, were unharmed and taken into protective custody by the Department of Children and Family Services, according to the source and the Sheriff’s Department. The Times reported that the family had no prior contact with the Department of Children and Family Services.
No arrests have been made.