Mother, boyfriend charged with murder in death of 1-year-old boy found burned at Sugarloaf home

SUGARLOAF, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman and her boyfriend face charges of murder and child abuse in the death of a 1-year-old boy who was found severely burned at a home near Big Bear.

Sergio Mena and Samantha Garver - the boy's mother - were arrested after deputies responded Sunday evening to a residence in Sugarloaf and found the child unresponsive and "suffering severe burns to his body," according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The child, Henry Wheatley Brown, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

During the investigation, detectives found the boy had other injuries that indicated child abuse.

Mena, 32, and Garver, 33, were charged Wednesday with murder and child abuse alleged to have occurred over the past five months. Mena faces an additional charge of assault on a child causing death.

Both pleaded not guilty and remain held without bail. They are due back in court Oct. 12.

In 2013, Garver was booked on an outstanding warrant for child abuse, sheriff's spokesperson Gloria Huerta told Eyewitness News.

The district attorney's office says that case was tried out of Joshua Tree. Garver pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child abuse and was sentenced to probation. But because she never followed up with the court, a bench warrant was issued for her arrest.

It's unclear whether anyone contacted authorities before about potential child abuse involving the 1-year-old. County officials said there was not any kind of open case.

How the boy stopped breathing and how he was burned remains unclear.