A mother and daughter accused of operating an unlicensed day care facility in California were charged with involuntary manslaughter after a 3-month-old child in their care died, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.
Authorities were dispatched Friday morning to an address in Royal Oaks, a community near Salinas, where a child was not breathing, the sheriff’s office said.
The infant was given lifesaving treatment at the scene and was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later, authorities added.
As many as 30 children of various ages were under the care of Maria Marquez, 62, and her daughter Johanna Marquez, 35, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives “were able to gather sufficient details to arrest the two operators of the unlicensed day care business for involuntary manslaughter believed to have resulted in the death of the three-month-old infant,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The suspects, who remained Monday in the Monterey County Jail, also face charges of felony child endangerment and operating a child day care facility without a license.
Their bail was set at $50,000 each. It was not immediately clear whether they have legal representation.
