California Boy, 3, Found Dead in Bathtub with Throat Slit: Police
Feb. 25 2024, Published 12:02 p.m. ET
Police said they are investigating after a 3-year-old boy was found in a bathtub with his throat slit at his California home.
Around 11 p.m. on Feb. 20, deputies responded to the home in Lancaster and found a 3-year-old boy who was unresponsive, according to court documents obtained by KTLA.
First responders began CPR until the child could be transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Deputies said the boy, who was later identified as David Jacques Hernandez, had a “laceration to his upper body.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, one of the toddler’s relatives called a family friend to the house and they found the boy in the tub and called 911.
Officials said a man at the home, 39-year-old Rena Naulls, was taken to the hospital after attempting to take his own life. Naulls is the boyfriend of the boy’s mother and had been living with the pair.
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Authorities said that Naulls has since been named a person of interest in the investigation, but no arrests have been made.
Three other children — ages 9, 11 and 14 — who lived in the home were not injured, and they have been placed in protective custody.
The sheriff’s department said the family had no prior contacts with the Department of Children and Family Services.
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A neighbor told KTLA, “He was always really happy, really sweet. It’s shocking because it’s nothing I would expect.”
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