A mom who authorities allege drowned her 7-year-old daughter at a Van Nuys apartment this month was charged with murder, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors also charged Graciela Castellanos, 37, of Van Nuys with felony assault of a child under 8 years old, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Authorities allege Castellanos drowned her daughter, identified as Rebecca Castellanos, on April 11.
An autopsy determined the girl died from asphyxia due to neck compression and drowning, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
Castellanos pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on Tuesday, authorities said. She remains in custody in lieu of $2 million bail.
If convicted, Castellanos faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
“The alleged facts of this case — where a mother is accused of intentionally taking the life of her young child — are profoundly tragic and deeply unsettling,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a news release. “Our sympathy goes out to the family and loved ones of this young girl, whose life was cut short far too soon.”
Castellanos’ fiance told ABC7 that his partner suffers from “mental and emotional health issues” and that he believes she was triggered by “a deep depression after she found out she might not become a legal resident.”
Castellanos “was an almost perfect mom. She never told a bad word, yelled at the girl, didn’t hit her,” he said in Spanish. “She was the sweetest mom in the world.”
