| For Immediate Release Case # 09CF3144
December 28, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
MOTHER CHARGED WITH MURDERING INFANT BABY DAUGHTER AFTER GIVING BIRTH AND DUMPING BABY IN RESTAURANT DUMPSTER
SANTA ANA – A mother was charged with murdering her infant baby right after giving birth and discarding the baby’s corpse in a dumpster. Juana Perez Valencia, 19, Anaheim, is charged with one felony count of murder. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. The people will be requesting Valencia be held on $1 million bail at her arraignment on Dec. 29, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. in Department CJ1, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
In the evening on Dec. 22, 2009, Valencia is accused of giving birth to a baby girl in the restroom of Sombrero’s, a Mexican restaurant where she was working as a food server. The restaurant is located at 7006 Katella Avenue in Stanton. The baby girl was born alive. Baby Doe weighed 6.3 pounds and was 17 inches long. The defendant is accused of murdering the baby, putting Baby Doe in a plastic bag, and throwing her body in a dumpster behind the restaurant. A day later, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department discovered the identity of the defendant after she checked into the hospital.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Ed Berakovich at (714) 347-8492 and/or Orange County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Investigator Joe Gaul at (714) 647-7055.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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