Suspect in Toddler's Murder Stabbed Himself, Set Himself on Fire and Jumped Out 2 Story Window, Police Say

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA -- Charges were pending Saturday for the drug-crazed man who allegedly stabbed his toddler to death and also was suspected of setting their North Hollywood apartment on fire, jumping from a window and stabbing himself before being arrested.

Police said the man remained in the hospital late Friday night for the injuries he sustained in the incident.

The 13-month-old victim's mother took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead Friday, according to Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.

An officer answering an assault with a deadly weapon/man with a knife call at 2:05 p.m. Friday in the 13200 block of Vanowen Street encountered a "somewhat combative" man -- who was on fire with a steak knife protruding from his chest -- and used less-than-lethal force to take him into custody, LAPD Capt. Steve Carmona said.

At the same time, firefighters were dispatched to the apartment blaze in the 13100 block of Vanowen, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The suspect, who is 25 to 30 years old but was not immediately identified, was taken to a hospital. He is expected to survive and to be booked once medically cleared, police said.

Carmona said investigators found evidence the suspect had used drugs -- possibly methamphetamine.

The man, who had locked himself in the apartment and set it on fire, jumped from the second-floor unit and was on fire, with the knife sticking out of his chest, when officers confronted him in an alley, police said.

Initial reports indicated the girl had been thrown from a second-story window, but that turned out not to be the case.

City News Service