LOS ANGELES, CA – Maria Avalos, a Californian mother, stands accused of the horrific crime of strangulation, leading to the death of her four-year-old daughter, Mia Gonzalez. Disturbingly, investigators believe that the mother may have driven for days with her deceased child in the car.
Mia was tragically found lifeless and strangled in a car on Thursday on Civic Center Way in East Los Angeles. Her mother was also in the vehicle at the time, local police allege. Avalos, aged 38, has since been arrested and charged with the gruesome act.
According to the father, Avalos had been struggling with personal problems and left with Mia earlier in the week. The police relayed to the devastated family that Avalos may have been driving around with her child’s body for several days before they apprehended her for murder, as stated by the local affiliate.
Described as the “light” of her home, Mia was a lovely child, says her godmother, Noemi Lopez. Lopez reported trying to make contact with Avalos during those two quiet days, but received no response except for reassurances that Avalos needed space and that she was working through a lot.
In the aftermath, a grief-stricken Lopez agonizes over the undeniably heinous act. According to her, Avalos should have reached out for help, adding, “She should’ve called me. Now she’s trying to call me from jail. What does she want now? She already did her part, now let me do my part.”
Authorities have cited the cause of young Mia’s death as the combined effects of both strangulation and sharp force trauma. The dreadful case is due for presentation to the Los Angeles County prosecutors on Tuesday.