Inset: Isaiah H. (KTLA/YouTube). Background: The California apartment complex where Destiny Harrison and Daniel Monzon’s son, Isaiah H., was found dead inside a cooler filled with ice (KNBC/YouTube).
A California mother and father are accused of “killing and torturing” their 8-year-old son with help from the boy’s grandmother, with the trio allegedly stowing the boy’s body “in a cooler filled with ice” afterward.
“The horrific abuse that Isaiah endured is made even worse by the fact that, as alleged, it was at the hands of the people who were meant to love and protect him,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman in a press release Friday announcing the arrests of Destiny Harrison, 25, Daniel Monzon, 25, and Ana Carcamo Zarceno, 45.
All three individuals face charges of murder, torture and child abuse resulting in death; Monzon and Zarceno, who is the boy’s paternal grandmother, are also charged with being accessories after the fact. The group is accused of causing willful harm to the child, identified as Isaiah H., resulting in his death.
Three more children — ages 16, 13 and 9 months — were also found at the Lynwood apartment where Isaiah was killed and taken into protective custody by the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services, according to local CW affiliate KTLA.
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Neighbors told the outlet that they would see Harrison walking her dog and picking her children up from the school bus, noting how she was calm and “seemed like a normal person,” according to one resident.
Neighbor Christian Torres told local NBC affiliate KNBC that he would see the children at the home “come outside and play,” while their mother would watch them.
“She would always be out here with her dog,” Torres said. “She would smile, would say ‘hi.’ Nothing out of the ordinary.”
According to prosecutors, Isaiah was allegedly abused “over a long period of time” before he eventually “succumbed to his injuries” on Oct. 24. “His body was found days later in a cooler filled with ice,” the DA’s office said in its release.
A cause of death has not yet been released.
Bail for Harrison, Monzon and Zarceno has been set at $2 million for each of them. They all face 32 years to life in state prison, if convicted.
“This is an unimaginable and horrific tragedy,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn in a statement. “My heart breaks for what the other children in this home must have experienced, and it’s critical that our Department of Children and Family Services do everything possible to support them and keep them safe in protective custody.”
