Neighbors in a Lynwood apartment complex are speaking out after the grisly discovery of a 7-year-old boy’s body found inside a freezer earlier this week, saying they’re struggling to comprehend how such a tragedy could happen so close to home.
Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded Tuesday night to a welfare check at an apartment in the 3100 block of Euclid Avenue, where they found the child dead, according to investigators. Sources told KTLA the boy’s body was discovered inside a freezer.
His mother, 25-year-old Destiny Harrison, was arrested on suspicion of murder. The boy’s father, 25-year-old Daniel Monzon, and grandmother, 46-year-old Ana Zarceno-Carcamo, were arrested for conspiracy to commit murder. Each is being held on $2 million bail.
Three other children, ages 16, 13 and 9 months, were taken into protective custody, officials said.
Residents who live in the small Lynwood apartment complex said nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the family. Several neighbors told KTLA they would often see Harrison walking her dog or picking her children up from the school bus, describing her as calm and quiet.
“To me she seemed like a normal person,” said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified. “The whole time she was here, she was walking her dog right here, and that’s about it.”
Others said they never heard any commotion coming from inside the unit.
“Once I found out it was a kid, I was literally driving home with my gut going crazy,” said Christian Torres, who lives nearby. “It hurts when you hear about these cases, but when you live them and they’re so close to you, it’s a whole different thing.”
Another resident, who identified herself only as Mia, said she was horrified to learn the boy may have suffered.
“That’s traumatizing to know that kid had to suffer like that,” she said. “A lot of people are trying to figure out what family did this… how did we not know? How did other people not know? There are thousands of people living around here, and none of us heard a thing or even saw anything on any of the kids.”
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Authorities have not released the boy’s name or determined how and when he died. The investigation remains ongoing.
“This is an unimaginable and horrific tragedy,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement. “My heart breaks for what the other children in this home must have experienced.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or lacrimestoppers.org.
