This week, the father and stepmother of an 8-year-old girl from California, who was discovered deceased in a hotel bathtub over the weekend, attended a court hearing where they both pled not guilty to her death.
Genesis Ariah Mata’s body was found at a La Quinta Inn in Bakersfield on Saturday evening, according to a report from KBAK. Official statements indicate that during a two-day period, Graciela Bustamonte, 27, and Ray Mata Jr., 31, collaborated in torturing the girl, involving incidents of pouring extremely hot water on her, which led to her skin being severely burned.
The documents also say the pair crushed the girl’s hand, causing her fingernails to separate from her fingers.
Mata reportedly confessed to investigators that he struck the girl in the abdomen, which eventually led to her losing consciousness and passing away. The court documents also reveal that Bustamonte admitted her involvement in the abusive actions.
They face charges of first-degree murder, child cruelty, and torture, and have been denied bail. Their next court appearance is scheduled for the following month.
KGET reports that seven other children were placed into protective custody following the discovery of the child’s body. A representative from the district attorney’s office mentioned that the charges of child cruelty involve two victims, though the second victim hasn’t been named.
Sabrina Guerrero, who identified herself as Genesis’s cousin, mentioned to KGET that the family had reached out to Child Protective Services over 20 times concerning issues within the family.
“It’s a bad situation and CPS needs to be held accountable for everything. Cause they were called on numerous occasions and went out and did investigations and completely left the whole case,” she said.
CPS and the Kern County Department of Human Services declined to answer questions about those allegations.
