Graciela Xiomara Castellanos, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California mother drowns her 7 year old daughter, Rebecca Castellanos over concerns of her legal residency status. Fiancee says woman was in deep depression.
‘Mommy, please no. Mommy, please no!’
A Los Angeles woman accused of drowning her 7 year old daughter at her Van Nuys apartment is alleged to have been suffering from mental illness.
Graciela Xiomara Castellanos, 37, was arrested on Friday, April 11, on suspicion of murdering 7 year old girl, Rebecca Castellanos.
Rebecca Castellanos pled for her life
Notice of the crime came after neighbors heard screaming coming from the apartment with officers called to the residence at the 6800 block of Sepulveda Boulevard around 5:40 p.m, KTLA reported.
Responding officers found the girl unresponsive in the bathtub. The child was later pronounced dead at the scene and the child’s mother arrested the mother without incident.
At the time of the drowning, a neighbor told Eyewitness News she heard the young child screaming, ‘Mommy, please no. Mommy, please no.’
The cause of death was revealed to be suffocation due to her neck being compressed and due to drowning, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Speaking to Eyewitness News, the fiancee who wanted to remain anonymous, said he arrived home around 7 p.m. — after everything had already happened. He claims Castellanos suffers with mental and emotional health issues, causing her to, at times, to scream and isolate herself until she calmed down.
The fiancé claimed the mother previously not having violent episodes in the past.
Van Nuys mom was stressed about her legal residency status
The fiancee said he was set to get married to Graciela Castellanos in about two months and afterward, he planned to adopt Castellanos’ 7-year-old daughter.
The man believes deep depression triggered Castellanos to drown the girl after finding out that she might not become a legal resident.
The LAPD did not release further details about what exactly led up to the child’s death. The investigation is ongoing.
Graciela Castellanos remained held at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood in lieu of $2 million bail. She doesn’t have any prior criminal convictions in Los Angeles County, according to court records.
