Overview
- Maria Del Refugio Avalos, 40, was sentenced Friday by Los Angeles County Judge Karla Kerlin to 25 years to life and was ordered held for transfer to state prison.
- Deputies responding to a child-assault call found the girl unresponsive in a car on Civic Center Way in East Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 2024, and detained Avalos at the scene.
- The Los Angeles County medical examiner determined the child died from the combined effects of strangulation and a sharp-force injury to her wrist.
- A jury on March 19 found Avalos guilty of second-degree murder and of assault on a child causing death after deadlocking on a premeditation finding tied to first-degree murder.
- Prosecutors said the girl was cold and had been dead for days when found, and relatives gave emotional statements as Avalos apologized without explaining why.