A Downey couple was convicted Thursday of inflicting abuse on their 4-month-old daughter that resulted in her death, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
Ashley Debra Jones, 26, was found guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse, while 26-year-old Johnathan Lucero was convicted on felony child abuse charges, according to a DA’s news release.
L.A. County Superior Court Judge Raul A. Sahagun also found true that the couple “willfully caused and permitted” the infant girl to be injured and harmed, which led to her death, prosecutors said.
The victim, identified by the Los Angeles Times as Savannah Lucero, was discovered unresponsive by Jones in the apartment they shared with Lucero’s family on Dec. 31, 2013. A family member called 911, and paramedics were sent out to the residence.
They rushed the baby to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later, according to the release.
The coroner’s office determined she died after sustaining blunt force trauma, the Times reported.
Savannah was found to have been beaten, according to court testimony. The victim had skull fractures, cerebral contusions, multiple rib fractures, a lacerated liver, bruised lungs and contusions to her diaphragm.
Prosecutors also said she was malnourished.
The parents were charged in the case a day after Savannah died.
Jones faces 15 years to life in state prison when she returns for her sentencing in a Norwalk courtroom on Nov. 15. Lucero faces a possible sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the release.
The incident was investigated by the Downey Police Department.