
Infant dies at illegal childcare
A US mother and daughter accused of operating an unlicensed day care facility in California have been charged with involuntary manslaughter after a three-month-old child in their care died.
Authorities were dispatched Friday morning to an address in Royal Oaks, a community near Salinas, where a child was not breathing, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said.
The infant was treated at the scene then taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later, authorities said.
As many as 30 children of various ages were under the care of Maria Marquez, 62, and her daughter Johanna Marquez, 35, according to the sheriff's office.
Detectives 'were able to gather sufficient details to arrest the two operators of the unlicensed day care business for involuntary manslaughter believed to have resulted in the death of the three-month-old infant', the sheriff's office said.
The suspects, who remained Monday in the Monterey County Jail, also face charges of felony child endangerment and operating a child day care facility without a license. Their bail was set at $US50,000 ($A77,100) each. It was not immediately clear whether they have legal representation.
The sheriff's office will continue to investigate the child's death and the childcare.
The California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division regulates the number of children permitted at a day care site and sets certain requirements for staff members, including paediatric CPR and first-aid training and child development courses.
Child deaths in licensed child care centres in California are rare, with three reported from 2017 to 2023, according to state social services data.
'There are certain trainings that the individuals that work and operate those facilities have to go through, and they're constantly being inspected by the state licensing board,' Sheriff's Commander Andres Rosas told KSBW of Salinas.
'So those standards that they have to meet are what give you a little bit more peace of mind that your child is safe at this particular location.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


7NEWS
2 days ago
- 7NEWS
Diddy paid security guard $US100,000 for hotel abuse video, jury told
Sean 'Diddy' Combs paid a hotel security officer to hand over surveillance footage that showed the hip hop mogul violently attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in a hallway, the officer has testified at Combs' sex trafficking trial. Eddy Garcia, who had worked at an Intercontinental hotel, told jurors that Combs contacted him shortly after the incident and asked for the footage. Combs said he would 'take care' of Garcia if he gave him the video, Garcia said. 'He was concerned that this video would get out and that it would ruin his career,' said Garcia, who was granted immunity from prosecution to testify. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Combs over two decades coerced women, including Ventura, to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as 'Freak Offs'. The trial is in its fourth week. Jurors had previously been shown a March 2016 surveillance video from the hallway of the Intercontinental hotel in Los Angeles where Combs, wearing only a towel, threw Ventura to the ground, kicked her and dragged her away. Ventura said the incident occurred after Combs had given her a black eye during a 'Freak Off'. Garcia said he relayed Combs' message about the video to his boss, who told him he would give Combs the video in exchange for $US50,000 ($A77,400). The next day, Garcia testified he saw his boss enter the room that hosted servers for the surveillance cameras. He said the boss gave him a USB drive, which he gave to Combs, who later returned with a brown bag and a money counter. Garcia said Combs ran cash from the bag through the counter, which displayed $US100,000, returned the money to the bag, and handed the bag to him. Combs' lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in domestic relationships but argue that women who took part in 'Freak Offs' did so consensually. Prosecutors say bribery is among the racketeering acts that Combs or his employees undertook in order to facilitate 'Freak Offs' and prevent word of his abuse from getting out. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next week, allowing the defence to put on its case.


The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Diddy paid hotel security officer for video, jury told
Sean "Diddy" Combs paid a hotel security officer to hand over surveillance footage that showed the hip-hop mogul violently attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in a hallway, the officer has testified at Combs' sex trafficking trial. Eddy Garcia, who had worked at an Intercontinental hotel, told jurors that Combs contacted him shortly after the incident and asked for the footage. Combs said he would "take care" of Garcia if he gave him the video, Garcia said. "He was concerned that this video would get out and that it would ruin his career," said Garcia, who was granted immunity from prosecution to testify. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Combs over two decades coerced women, including Ventura, to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as "Freak Offs". The trial is in its fourth week. Jurors had previously been shown a March 2016 surveillance video from the hallway of the Intercontinental hotel in Los Angeles where Combs, wearing only a towel, threw Ventura to the ground, kicked her and dragged her away. Ventura said the incident occurred after Combs had given her a black eye during a "Freak Off". Garcia said he relayed Combs' message about the video to his boss, who told him he would give Combs the video in exchange for $US50,000 ($A77,400). The next day, Garcia testified he saw his boss enter the room that hosted servers for the surveillance cameras. He said the boss gave him a USB drive, which he gave to Combs, who later returned with a brown bag and a money counter. Garcia said Combs ran cash from the bag through the counter, which displayed $US100,000, returned the money to the bag, and handed the bag to him. Combs' lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in domestic relationships but argue that women who took part in "Freak Offs" did so consensually. Prosecutors say bribery is among the racketeering acts that Combs or his employees undertook in order to facilitate "Freak Offs" and prevent word of his abuse from getting out. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next week, allowing the defence to put on its case. Sean "Diddy" Combs paid a hotel security officer to hand over surveillance footage that showed the hip-hop mogul violently attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in a hallway, the officer has testified at Combs' sex trafficking trial. Eddy Garcia, who had worked at an Intercontinental hotel, told jurors that Combs contacted him shortly after the incident and asked for the footage. Combs said he would "take care" of Garcia if he gave him the video, Garcia said. "He was concerned that this video would get out and that it would ruin his career," said Garcia, who was granted immunity from prosecution to testify. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Combs over two decades coerced women, including Ventura, to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as "Freak Offs". The trial is in its fourth week. Jurors had previously been shown a March 2016 surveillance video from the hallway of the Intercontinental hotel in Los Angeles where Combs, wearing only a towel, threw Ventura to the ground, kicked her and dragged her away. Ventura said the incident occurred after Combs had given her a black eye during a "Freak Off". Garcia said he relayed Combs' message about the video to his boss, who told him he would give Combs the video in exchange for $US50,000 ($A77,400). The next day, Garcia testified he saw his boss enter the room that hosted servers for the surveillance cameras. He said the boss gave him a USB drive, which he gave to Combs, who later returned with a brown bag and a money counter. Garcia said Combs ran cash from the bag through the counter, which displayed $US100,000, returned the money to the bag, and handed the bag to him. Combs' lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in domestic relationships but argue that women who took part in "Freak Offs" did so consensually. Prosecutors say bribery is among the racketeering acts that Combs or his employees undertook in order to facilitate "Freak Offs" and prevent word of his abuse from getting out. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next week, allowing the defence to put on its case. Sean "Diddy" Combs paid a hotel security officer to hand over surveillance footage that showed the hip-hop mogul violently attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in a hallway, the officer has testified at Combs' sex trafficking trial. Eddy Garcia, who had worked at an Intercontinental hotel, told jurors that Combs contacted him shortly after the incident and asked for the footage. Combs said he would "take care" of Garcia if he gave him the video, Garcia said. "He was concerned that this video would get out and that it would ruin his career," said Garcia, who was granted immunity from prosecution to testify. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Combs over two decades coerced women, including Ventura, to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as "Freak Offs". The trial is in its fourth week. Jurors had previously been shown a March 2016 surveillance video from the hallway of the Intercontinental hotel in Los Angeles where Combs, wearing only a towel, threw Ventura to the ground, kicked her and dragged her away. Ventura said the incident occurred after Combs had given her a black eye during a "Freak Off". Garcia said he relayed Combs' message about the video to his boss, who told him he would give Combs the video in exchange for $US50,000 ($A77,400). The next day, Garcia testified he saw his boss enter the room that hosted servers for the surveillance cameras. He said the boss gave him a USB drive, which he gave to Combs, who later returned with a brown bag and a money counter. Garcia said Combs ran cash from the bag through the counter, which displayed $US100,000, returned the money to the bag, and handed the bag to him. Combs' lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in domestic relationships but argue that women who took part in "Freak Offs" did so consensually. Prosecutors say bribery is among the racketeering acts that Combs or his employees undertook in order to facilitate "Freak Offs" and prevent word of his abuse from getting out. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next week, allowing the defence to put on its case. Sean "Diddy" Combs paid a hotel security officer to hand over surveillance footage that showed the hip-hop mogul violently attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in a hallway, the officer has testified at Combs' sex trafficking trial. Eddy Garcia, who had worked at an Intercontinental hotel, told jurors that Combs contacted him shortly after the incident and asked for the footage. Combs said he would "take care" of Garcia if he gave him the video, Garcia said. "He was concerned that this video would get out and that it would ruin his career," said Garcia, who was granted immunity from prosecution to testify. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Combs over two decades coerced women, including Ventura, to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as "Freak Offs". The trial is in its fourth week. Jurors had previously been shown a March 2016 surveillance video from the hallway of the Intercontinental hotel in Los Angeles where Combs, wearing only a towel, threw Ventura to the ground, kicked her and dragged her away. Ventura said the incident occurred after Combs had given her a black eye during a "Freak Off". Garcia said he relayed Combs' message about the video to his boss, who told him he would give Combs the video in exchange for $US50,000 ($A77,400). The next day, Garcia testified he saw his boss enter the room that hosted servers for the surveillance cameras. He said the boss gave him a USB drive, which he gave to Combs, who later returned with a brown bag and a money counter. Garcia said Combs ran cash from the bag through the counter, which displayed $US100,000, returned the money to the bag, and handed the bag to him. Combs' lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in domestic relationships but argue that women who took part in "Freak Offs" did so consensually. Prosecutors say bribery is among the racketeering acts that Combs or his employees undertook in order to facilitate "Freak Offs" and prevent word of his abuse from getting out. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors have said they may finish presenting their case next week, allowing the defence to put on its case.

9 News
2 days ago
- 9 News
Sean 'Diddy' Combs paid to hide Cassie beating video, court told
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Soon after viciously attacking his longtime girlfriend Cassie in a US hotel hallway, Sean "Diddy" Combs sought out a security guard and predicted accurately that his iconic career would be ruined, his image as the affable, successful "Puff Daddy" destroyed, if video of the beating ever became public. Eddy Garcia, 33, testified that the hip-hop mogul made the comment repeatedly before giving a brown paper bag stuffed with $US100,000 ($155,000) in cash to the then-guard, in order to buy what he hoped was the only copy of surveillance footage of the March 2016 assault. Prosecutors at Combs' sex trafficking trial in Manhattan have made the footage of Combs kicking, beating and dragging Cassie at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles a centrepiece of their federal case against him. They contend it supports the claims of three women, including Cassie, who allege the Bad Boy Records founder sexually and physically abused them over two decades. Leaked video captured Sean 'Diddy' Combs assaulting former girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016. (Nine) US prosecutors say Combs' persistent efforts to hush up the episode fit into allegations he used threats and his fortune and fame to get what he wanted. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. After the attack, Garcia said, he spoke several times to Combs' chief-of-staff, Kristina Khorram, telling her he couldn't show her the recording but "off the record, it's bad." He said during one phone call she put a "very nervous"-sounding Combs on the phone, who "was just saying he had a little too much to drink" and that, as Garcia surely knows, "with women, one thing leads to another and if this got out it would ruin him." Garcia added: "He was talking really fast, a lot of stuttering." Sean 'Diddy' Combs became nervous and afraid when he realised there was CCTV footage of him assaulting Casandra Ventura, a court heard. (AP) In the evening, Garcia said, he became nervous and scared when Khorram called him on his mobile phone — the number for which he had not provided — and she put Combs on. "He stated that I sounded like a good guy," Garcia testified, adding that Combs again said "something like this could ruin him." When he told Combs he didn't have access to the server to obtain the video footage, Combs said he believed Garcia could make it happen and that "he would take care of me," which Garcia said he took "to mean financially." Garcia said he checked with his boss and was told he'd sell it to Combs for $US50,000. When he told Combs, he said the music producer "sounded excited." Cassie Ventura, right, walks out of the courtroom past Sean Diddy Combs after testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) (AP) "He referred to me as 'Eddy my angel,'" Garcia said, adding that Combs told him: "I knew you could help. I knew you could do it." Within two days of the attack on Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, Garcia gave Combs a storage device containing the footage in exchange for $US100,000 in cash — with Combs feeding bills through a money counter and putting them in a brown paper bag. Garcia signed a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement, shown in court, that required he pay $US1 million ($1.6 million) if he breached the deal. At the time, he said, he was making $US10.50 an hour working hotel security. Garcia said he signed a declaration swearing that there was no other copy of the video. He said he signed the papers in an office building with Combs' bodyguard and Khorram present. Garcia said he didn't fully read the documents, explaining that he was nervous and "the goal was to get out of there as soon as possible." After signing, he said, Combs asked him what he planned to do with the money and advised him not to make big purchases. Garcia said he took that to mean he shouldn't do anything that would draw attention. Garcia said he gave $US50,000 to his boss and $US20,000 to another security officer. He pocketed $US30,000 and used some of it to buy a used car, he said. He used cash and, avoiding a further paper trail, never put the money in the bank, he said. A few weeks later, Garcia said, Combs called him and asked if anyone had inquired about the video. Garcia said no, recounting Combs' ebullient greeting: "Happy Easter. Eddy, my angel. God is good. God put you in my way for a reason." Garcia said he asked Combs if the rapper might have future work for him, and Combs sounded receptive. But Combs never responded to his later inquiries, the witness said. Last year, CNN aired footage of the security video. Another hotel guard has testified he recorded the footage on his phone so he could show it to his wife. Sean Diddy Combs USA courts CCTV Violence CONTACT US