Mother arrested for murder after 9-year-old daughter found dead at Westminster home

WESTMINSTER, Calif. (CNS) -- A 32-year-old Westminster woman was arrested Friday for allegedly killing her 9-year-old daughter, police said.

At 12:04 p.m. Friday, officers from the Westminster Police Department were called to a home in the 14100 block of Goldenwest Street to conduct a welfare check after receiving a tip from a concerned family member.

The officers forced their way into the residence and found the dead child alone with obvious signs of trauma, according to Sgt. Edward Esqueda.

Khadiyjah Pendergraph was identified as a person of interest in the girl's death, police said. Working with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, detectives from the Westminster Police Department located and arrested Pendergraph at a shopping center in Aliso Viejo.

She was booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder, police said.

"While police officers are exposed to tragedies on a daily basis, this murder is particularly disturbing, due to the senseless loss of a child allegedly at the hands of her own mother," Westminster Police Chief Darin Lenyi said. "The members of the WPD grieve with the victim's family and extend our deepest condolences."

Anyone with additional information about the alleged homicide was asked to call Detective Marcela Lopez at (714) 548-3773. Anonymous calls can be made to Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) 847-6287 or sent to www.occrimestoppers.org.