7-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Killed by Mother Who Feared Deportation

An American mother is accused of drowning and strangling her 7-year-old daughter in their bathtub. Neighbors say they heard the child yelling, “Mommy, please no!” right before the alleged murder, which her fiancé says was caused by the woman’s depression and worries about her immigration status.

According to her fiancé, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to a local ABC station, Graciela Castellanos, 37, was having mental health problems and was afraid that she would be deported because of her immigration status.

A guy who is not the father of Castellanos’ daughter told KABC that Castellanos was a “almost perfect mom” who never hurt the child or said “a bad word” to her.

The fiancé said, “She was the nicest mom in the world.” He also said that he got to the apartment after someone called the police, but it’s not clear who. The man told KABC, “I never got to the apartment and saw the girl or Castellanos.” “I got home after everything else.” He said, “This happened around 4 or 5 p.m., and I got home right on time at almost 7 p.m.”

Police and paramedics in Los Angeles found Rebecca Castellanos in the bathroom of her apartment in the 6800 block of Sepulveda Boulevard at 5:40 p.m. on Friday, April 11. She was not breathing. Later, first rescuers said she was dead at the scene.

KABC says a neighbor who spoke to the news station but asked to remain anonymous said she heard the child screaming before the police came. Castellanos’ fiancé said she has mental and emotional health problems that make her scream and shut herself off until she can calm down. He said she had never been angry before, though.

The man said he thought Castellanos was motivated by fear that she might not be able to become a U.S. citizen and would have to leave the country because of this.

Her daughter’s death comes at a time when immigration and deportations are still very controversial in the US and federal courts. This is because President Trump decided to remove people using a law from the 18th century that was meant to help with war.

The medical inspector said Rebecca died of asphyxiation after her neck was pressed and she drowned.

Castellanos is likely to be charged with murder, and her $2 million bail has been set.