A 32-year-old woman was arrested in the death of her 9-year-old daughter in Westminster.
Officer’s responded just after noon Friday to the home in the Orange County community for a welfare check after receiving a call from a family member. Officers forced their way into the Goldenwest Street home and found the girl dead, police said.
Details about a cause of death were not immediately available, but police said the child was found with "obvious signs of trauma.". No one else was in the residence, police said.
The child’s mother was later arrested at a shopping center about 20 miles away in Aliso Viejo. Khadiyjah Pendergraph was arrested on suspicion of murder. Details about why she was at the shopping center were not immediately available.
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It was not immediately clear whether she has an attorney who could speak on her behalf.
The grim discovery left neighbors utterly stunned.
"It’s like a nightmare," said Evelyn Gonzalez. "It’s, it’s a nice neighborhood. This is, you know, all the neighbors play together ... I have four boys, and my boys are always playing with all the children around the block and I just cannot believe it… I’m in shock."
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Court documents obtained by NBC4 stated Pendergraph filed for a restraining order from the child's father in 2016 for "domestic violence with child." In the document, the mother said the child has cerebral palsy and the girl is "unsafe" with the father and she would "keep her safe at all times."
Anyone with additional information about the case was asked to call police at 714-548-3773. Anonymous calls can be made to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6287 or sent to www.occrimestoppers.org.
