Mom Charged With Murder In Death Of 15-Month-Old In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA — The mother of a 15-month-old who died after being found in a Santa Monica apartment Tuesday has been charged, according to court records.

Carmen Anita Degregg, 24, was charged Thursday with murder and assault on a child causing death, court records show.

Degregg, 24, was expected to be arraigned Friday in downtown Los Angeles.

University of California, Los Angeles, police notified Santa Monica police that a woman had been detained on the university’s campus, the Santa Monica Police Department said.

According to police, the woman had made “statements indicating she had harmed her child and left the child inside an apartment in the 2000 block of Broadway.”

When officers arrived at the apartment in the Pico Neighborhood of Santa Monica, they found a child “with significant injuries,” police said.

Santa Monica Fire Department rescuers arrived on scene and took the toddler to a hospital, police said, adding that the child was later pronounced dead.

The woman was taken into custody, police said.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office will determine the cause and manner of death, police said.

An investigation is ongoing, police said.

Degregg is being held on $2 million bail, jail records show.

If convicted as charged, Degregg faces 25 years to life in prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

City News Service contributed to this report.