A mother and daughter in California are facing involuntary manslaughter and child abuse charges after an infant was found dead at an unlicensed daycare they were operating.
Maria Cleotilde Marquez, 62, and her daughter, Johanna Marquez, 35, were taken into custody after the incident on Saturday, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a residence near 100 Hillcrest Road in Royal Oaks around 10:30 a.m. Saturday after receiving a 911 call about a baby that wasn’t breathing.
A three-month-old baby was found unconscious and was transported to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced deceased, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators discovered the home was operating as an unlicensed daycare that cared for up to 30 children of various ages at a time, officials said in a news release.
Marquez and her daughter, both operators of the unlicensed facility, were arrested with investigators saying the duo are believed to have contributed to the death of the baby.
Details of how the baby died or what role the daycare providers played in the death remain unclear.
Both mother and daughter were booked into the Monterey County Jail on charges of involuntary manslaughter, felony child endangerment, and operating a childcare facility without a license. Their bail has been set at $50,000 each.
