'Unsafe conditions' for 6-month-old Culver City baby detailed in parents' hearing
CULVER CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- Grim testimony about the hunt for 6-month-old Culver City baby Jacsun Manson emerged in the preliminary hearing for his parents, Adam Manson and Kiana Williams, who are accused of child endangerment causing Jacsun's death.
On Wednesday, nine witnesses testified to the peril that surrounded the baby.
A case manager at a transitional housing complex in Culver City said she saw such filth and so much drug paraphernalia in their apartment that she alerted the Department of Children and Family Services.
Culver City missing baby: Infant's parents charged in connection with his death
Surrounding the baby's bouncy chair were cigarette butts, rotting food, marijuana pipes, small blow torches and bags with white residue.
"I called because I thought the baby was unsafe," testified Ariana Herrera.
The couple left the complex in mid-November and lived in a stolen car.
MORE: In jailhouse interview, Culver City parents deny killing baby
Stephanie Johnson and her 13-year-old daughter testified they last saw the baby before Christmas. The teen said she heard the baby crying and found him on the floor between two sofas. She said the parents were in and out of the bathroom and did not respond.
Los Angeles Police Department Officer Luke Coyle testified that he found the couple breaking into cars on Jan. 3. The baby was not with them nor did the couple appear distressed or bereaved.
By then, Jacsun was dead, according to information later uncovered by Culver City investigators who were notified about the missing child in late January.
MORE: Police searching for baby's remains in Corona landfill
The couple ultimately told detectives that they were chronic meth users and that on New Years Eve, they woke up in their motel room to find their son's lifeless body. They say they panicked, wrapped the remains, placed the body in a suitcase and tossed it in a dumpster at the Crenshaw Mall.
A sanitation worker, Martin Ramirez Salas testified that on Jan. 15, he found a black-striped burgundy bag which stood out because it was in a bin for green waste and had a foul smell.
The search will resume at the El Sobrante landfill in Corona where the suitcase was deposited, according to prosecutor Jon Hatami.
If the baby's body is found and an autopsy reveals traumatic injuries, the parents could be charged with murder.
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