People v. Arenas CA2/6

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 19, 2010, the District Attorney of Santa Barbara County filed an information against Arenas and her then boyfriend, Jose Luis Gonzalez, alleging that they committed acts of torture and child abuse against their two-year-old and three-year-old daughters. At about 4:30 a.m. on April 15, 2010, Arenas arrived with her two-year-old daughter at the Marian Hospital emergency room. She had walked there with the child in a stroller from her home four miles away. The child had severe second and third degree burns to her hands and wrists. She was screaming and shaking violently; the skin on her hands and forearms was peeling and "melted off." Medical personnel transferred the child to the Grossman Burn Center for treatment. Detective Michael Huffman of the Santa Maria police department interviewed Arenas. He said: Arenas admitted that she intentionally burned her daughter. She stated that she was "very angry," "pissed off," and "depressed" because the child had been playing with her cosmetics. She admitted that she pinned the child against the bathroom sink and held her hands under hot running water for two to five minutes. Several times during the…