Preschool Girl's Death A Homicide, Say Colorado Springs Police

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Three-year-old Bella Ritch was found unresponsive in October at her Colorado Springs home, and brought to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. But Tuesday, Colorado Springs Police released results of an El Paso Co. Coroner's report that showed that the little girl died of blunt force injuries. Police now consider her death a homicide.

Bella was described as a cheerful child who was a "greeter" at Corpus Christi Catholic School, where parents quickly set up a GoFundMe page that raised more than $9,100 to help Bella's mother Teresa Ladogana pay for the child's funeral expenses.

Springs police did not explain why the coroner's autopsy results were released so many months after the child's death.

Colorado Springs Police described the incident as follows:

On October 2, 2017, at approximately 11:23 AM, representatives from the Colorado Springs Fire Department and Colorado Springs Police Department were dispatched to a home in the 3700 block of Ensenada Drive to investigate a three year old child who had lost consciousness. The child, Bella Ritch, was transported to an area medical facility. Despite receiving medical intervention, Bella was pronounced deceased at the hospital. Given the information developed during the on-scene investigation, representatives from the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Special Victims Section responded to begin conducting a death investigation. The El Paso County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy of Bella Ritch and determined the manner of her death to be homicide. The cause of death was determined to be the result of blunt force injuries.

At this point, the investigation remains active and no arrests have been made, Colorado Springs police said.

This death brings the total number of homicides investigated by CSPD to 32 in 2017. In 2016 there were a total of 22 homicides investigated, police said.

Anyone with information or is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000; or if you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477

Image via GoFundMe