The man had self-inflicted injuries and was found next to the body. He was taken to a local hospital. Police believe he may be the girl's father or stepfather. It was not clear how the Long Beach girl died.
Her body was discovered in a church parking lot around 11 a.m. on Saturday by Nancy Eormurian. She said she was late for an appointment and took a shortcut through the parking lot when she saw the girl and a man on the ground and stopped to see if they were OK.
She said the man was still alive and that he indicated the girl was his "other daughter." She thought they were both victims and called 911.
"I just thought they were two bodies that were dumped there," she said. "And then I really started looking closer and I realized that I didn't think she was breathing. He was being more conscious, looking back toward me, but there was blood everywhere."
Police looked for clues in a pick-up truck parked outside Linda Jones's house three blocks from where the girl's body was found. Jones says she and her husband were home Friday night and heard car doors slamming. Jones's husband looked outside and saw a man walking away with a young girl.
"He said 'I actually thought about going after them,'" she said. "Just because it was unusual, it was so late at night. But he didn't do that."
Investigators don't yet know why the girl was murdered. Her name is being withheld pending notification of kin.
