East Los Angeles mother charged with murder of her 4-year-old daughter

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A mother was charged Tuesday with murder and assault in the strangulation death of her 4-year-old daughter in East Los Angeles.

Arraignment for Maria Del Refugio Avalos, 38, was moved to March 13 as she remains held on bail of more than $2 million. She has been assigned a public defender.

The child was found unresponsive inside a vehicle. She was transported to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

Investigators say deputies found 4-year-old Mia Gonzalez in a car with her mother, Avalos, last week. The child was pronounced dead and the coroner's office determined her cause of death was "combined effects of strangulation and sharp force injury of the wrist."

Her family says Avalos had left home with her daughter days earlier. The child's father told ABC7 he knew she was having problems, but he couldn't imagine she would do something like that.

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.

East Los Angeles family struggling to understand why woman allegedly strangled own 4-year-old daughter

Family members are speaking out after the shocking strangulation of a 4-year-old girl in East Los Angeles, allegedly by her own mother.