South LA Father Charged With Murder In 4-Year-Old Son's Beating Death
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A father has been charged with murder, accused of beating his 4-year-old son to death in South Los Angeles last week.
Hirwin Calderon-Ordonez, 24, was charged Monday with one count of murder in the death of Justin Sontay-Oxlaj, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office reports.
In the early morning hours of June 6, Los Angeles Fire Department crews responded to a 911 call from Calderon-Ordonez regarding his injured son in the 1600 block of East 47th Street. In the 911 call, he told dispatchers his son had been hurt in a fall.
Sontay-Oxlaj was transported to LAC+USC Medical Center where he later died, the fire department said. The boy's mother was not home at the time of the incident. The victim was alone with his father.
Calderon-Ordonez plead not guilty at his arraignment Monday afternoon in a downtown L.A. courtroom. He sat sobbing in a glass-walled custody area of the courtroom, still dressed in street clothes.
Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami told the court he turned over discovery to the defense that included two reports of suspected child abuse, a recording of the 911 call that brought paramedics to the family's home and photos of the boy's injuries.
The family had moved into the home five days prior and was living there for free, according to a friend of the homeowner.
If convicted, Calderon-Ordonez faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison.
He is being held on $2 million bail. His next hearing is scheduled for July 29.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
