MIAAMOR STEEN - 5 yo -(2010) Inglewood CA

A 24-year-old man was being held without bail Thursday on suspicion of killing a 5-year-old girl found in a hotel bathtub in Inglewood, police said.
The girl was found around 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Airport Parkview Hotel located at 3900 W. Century Blvd., near Prairie Avenue, said Sgt. Juan Ferreira of the Inglewood Police Department.
Officers arriving at the extended stay hotel found the child in a bathtub unconscious and not breathing, Ferreira said. Paramedics began CPR and took her to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
``Detectives initially were investigating the death as a suspicious death,'' Ferreira said. ``(Investigators) reclassified it as a criminal homicide after the preliminary investigation by the L.A. County Coroner determined that the child had suffered blunt force trauma to her head.''
Ferreira said Solomon Douglas Walters of Inglewood was at the hotel when police arrived. He was interviewed by detectives and arrested.
Walters was booked at the Inglewood Police Department Jail for murder. He is being held without bail and is expected to appear in court Monday.
Police urged anyone with information regarding this homicide to contact the Inglewood Police Department's Homicide Section at (310) 412-5246.
Police did not release the name of the victim.

Just received this in email...

From Guest To Admin, Today at 0:28

"The baby Jane Doe is my Nieces daughter. Her name was Miaamor Steen and she was the daughter of Jennine Steen, 24. The baby was murdered by the boyfriend while my niece was at work. She has now been arrested and stands falsely accused of mureder in the death of her own child. She is being held on 1,000,000 dollars bail. She is innocent and had no knowledge of apparent abuse that her child was suffering at the hands of this monster. She herself was a victim of abuse."

http://projects.latimes.com/homicide/post/miamor-steen/


Miaamor Steen, 5 [Updated]
Died Sept. 16, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.

Miaamor Steen, a 5-year-old Latina, was beaten to death Thursday, Sept. 16, in the 3900 block of West Century Boulevard in Inglewood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Authorities were called to the Airport Parkview Hotel regarding “a baby not breathing,” according to the Inglewood Police Department.

Paramedics performed CPR on Miaamor and rushed her to the emergency room of a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

The child’s male caretaker, Solomon Douglas Walters, was arrested and booked on suspicion of homicide after a preliminary investigation by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office determined the child died of blunt-force trauma to the head, police said.

Douglas, a 24-year-old black man, is being held at the Men’s Central Jail in downtown in lieu of $1-million bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 4 at Inglewood Municipal Court.

[Update Oct. 1: Officials from the Inglewood Police Department confirmed Miaamor's mother was arrested in connection with her death.

Jennine Steen, a 26-year-old Latina, was taken in by authorities on Sept. 28. According to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, she has yet to be charged.]

— Scott Glover and Sarah Ardalani

A father wonders if he could have done more
Posted Oct. 7, 2010, 4:46 p.m.


Photo: Miaamor Steen, 5. Credit: Sarah Ardalani / Los Angeles Times

In the front row of an Inglewood Municipal court, Donya Steen sat quietly Monday morning, staring down at the floor, his hands sweaty from anxiety.

He wore a pin-striped suit, his hair pulled back in cornrows,  as he waited for his estranged wife, Jennine Steen, and her boyfriend, Solomon Walters, to be arraigned on charges that they killed his 5-year-old daughter, Miaamor.

He repeatedly asked his sister, who sat next to him, whether he had done enough to save his daughter. She reassured Donya -- who had alerted county social workers to possible abuse of his daughter -- that he did all he could do.

On Sept. 16, Inglewood police were called to the Airport Parkview Hotel, an extended stay hotel, about 2 p.m. regarding “a baby not breathing,” according to a department news release.

When authorities arrived, they found Miaamor in a bathtub, unconscious and not breathing, police said. Paramedics performed CPR on the girl and rushed her to Centinela Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Several hours after her death, Walters was questioned by investigators and arrested after a preliminary investigation by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office determined Miaamor died of blunt-force trauma to the head, police said.

Jennine Steen, who told family that she was at work during the time of the incident, was arrested 12 days later.

Walters has been charged with one count of murder and one count of assault on a child causing death. Jennine Steen has also been charged with one count of murder and one count of child abuse, according to a felony complaint by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

In court Monday, Jennine Steen refused to come out of the holding cell. She trembled and had difficulty breathing as her attorney told her to calm down and come out. With hesitation, she walked forward and stood next to Walters who showed no emotion as their public defenders asked the commissioner for a continuance for the defendants’ pleas. Their next court appearance was scheduled for Nov. 3.

As bailiffs escorted the pair to holding cells, Donya Steen, visibly overcome with anger and grief, walked out of the court.

He and Jennine were not married when Miaamor was born in July 2005. They stayed together during his incarceration on weapons charges in 2007, marrying at the prison during his 32-month sentence.

Donya said Jennine would visit often with their daughter. Shortly before he was released, he said his wife’s demeanor changed. At the time, he thought it had to do with conflicts she had had with her family over their relationship and financial troubles. Within weeks of his release from prison in September 2009, Donya said he and Jennine had filed for divorce and she began dating Walters.

At one point, Donya said Jennine dropped off Miaamor at his house and said she was unable to take care of their child, who he cared for until his mother-in-law came to pick her up weeks later.

"Mia was only supposed to be gone for an hour, but she never brought her back," Donya said.

After that, Donya said making contact with his daughter proved difficult; Jennine refused to take his calls and he was blocked by the staff at his daughter’s day care center. "I used to be on the "pick-up" list, but [Jennine] took me off," he said. "They wouldn't even let Miaamor come to the window so I could see her."

Donya had no communication with his daughter and had no idea of her whereabouts.

In June he said he got an unexpected phone call from Miaamor. During their conversation, Donya said his daughter had told him her mother had been hitting her. "I told her let me speak to mommy. I got on the phone with Jennine and I told her to stop hitting her. I told her she was going to kill her,” Donya said. “But she said she was just playing around."

Concerned, Donya said he made a call to the Department of Children and Family services to report possible abuse. According to sources familiar with the case, records indicate two separate hotline calls about Miaamor. The most recent investigation was closed about a month before her death, with no finding of abuse.

"The worker said she met with Mia and she wasn't being abused, neglected, tortured and the case was closed," Donya said. He said he pleaded with the social worker to continue investigating but was told this was not something they could handle. He said the social worker told him to take up his complaints in family court.

He learned of his daughter’s death Sept. 17. Jennine's mother called his mother to tell her that something had happened to Miaamor.

Donya called Jennine’s family, who told him that his daughter was gone.

"I asked, where did she go? And they told me she was dead."

http://homicide.latimes.com/post/father-wonders-if-he-could-have-done-more/