KAMILAH RUSSELL - 2 yo - Oakland CA

Oakland police say the woman in custody for the
death of her 2-year-old daughter admitted to them she killed the child.
Police won't say if Tiffany Lopez admitted killing the child
intentionally or by accident, but based on interviews with her and
others, the department has filed murder charges against the woman.


Family members called police yesterday afternoon after little Kamilah
Russell was found unresponsive in the family apartment on High Street.
She was taken to the hospital where she died.
Police believe the child was suffocated.
Lopez initially told police the child died after she accidentally sat
on the girl while playing hide-and-seek.
Lopez, who is pregnant, also has a 7-month old daughter who has been
placed in protective custody.
She is due to be arraigned on murder charges Friday morning.

OMG we keep seeing this and I know I keep saying this. She had a 2 year old, a 7 month old and decided to get pregnant again and she doesn't look very old herself. Can't family, friends, doctors, CYFS see there's something wrong with someone who continuously gets pregnant? It's like bulimia or overeating and other disorders and the outcome is tragic.

The young mother accused in the suffocation death of her 2-year-old child was
charged with murder Friday by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and
is being held without bail.
Tiffany Lopez, 19, appeared in court in a wheelchair Friday afternoon.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert McGuiness told her she is being
charged in the death of her daughter, Kamilah Russell.


A family member holds an undated snapshot of
two-year-old Kamilah Russell, left,
and her 6-month-old sister Tania.
Kamilah's mother has been charged in the smothering death of Kamilah


Lopez, who is three months pregnant, admitted suffocating Kamilah on Tuesday
afternoon inside the High Street apartment in East Oakland where the family had
lived for just three weeks after moving from San Mateo, police said.
Lopez and Kamilah's father, Joseph Russell Jr., also have a 7-month-old
infant, who had been placed in protective custody. The infant was returned to
Russell's family Friday afternoon.
Lopez's family members who attended court Friday refused to comment when
surrounded by a pack of television reporters.
Police said Lopez called 911 about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday from the apartment in
the 2800 block of High Street to say Kamilah was not breathing. The child was
taken to Children's Hospital Oakland, where she was pronounced dead at 5:35
p.m.
Lopez initially told police that she and her daughter had been playing
hide-and-seek in the apartment and that she accidentally sat on the child, who
Lopez said was hiding under a couch cushion. Several members of Russell's family
said Lopez telephoned them Tuesday afternoon and repeated the story.

Lopez was arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of murder after she told
homicide investigators she became "frustrated" with her daughter and suffocated
the child, authorities said. Investigators believe she held her hand over the
child's mouth until the girl stopped breathing.
Russell and Lopez have been together for about 3½ years, authorities said.
They were both living in the High Street apartment since their recent move from
San Mateo. On Tuesday, Russell had left the apartment shortly before the
incident to go to his mother's house to pick up his brothers, police said. He
intended to bring them to the new apartment for a visit and was only away a
short time, police said.
Lopez's mother, Linda Lopez, 44, of San Mateo, told reporters her daughter
suffers from a chemical imbalance and did not intend to kill the child. Tiffany
Lopez was out on bail for a Dec. 24 child endangerment arrest in San Mateo
County. In that incident, Lopez got into a fight with her 11-year-old brother
and police were called, family members said.
Funeral services for Kamilah will be held at noon Wednesday at the
McNary-Morgan Mortuary, 3630 Telegraph Ave.
Lopez was referred to the Public Defender's Office and is expected to return
to court Monday afternoon.