A former Anderson woman was ordered today to stand trial for murder in the death of her 6-week-old baby.
Marcela Armida Fernandez, also known as Marcela Salazar, 39, was bound over for trial following a lengthy preliminary hearing in Shasta County Superior Court. Arraignments is scheduled for Oct. 22, when a trial date may also be set.
Fernandez remains in custody at Shasta County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail following a June arrest in Southern California. She had moved from Anderson to Sun Valley.
She is charged with murder, as well as assault upon a child, for allegedly shaking her baby daughter while they lived in Anderson in 2003. Kayla Salazar lay in a near-coma for almost five years before dying in September at a Santa Monica care home, Capt. Robert Kirvin of the Anderson Police Department has said.
The arrest of Fernandez came after Anderson police received an autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office that determined Kayla died as a direct result of her being shaken in 2003, police and prosecutors said.
Criminal defense attorney Ross Helmbold argued today that Fernandez never intended to hurt or kill her daughter and, at most, should only be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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