MIREYA McCALL - 5 yo (2010) - Compton (S of LA) CA

The body of a 5-year-old girl was found Sunday morning inside a
closet in a Compton home, authorities said.
The girl’s mother had reported her missing about 7 a.m. and directed
deputies to a residence in the 1100 block of East Peck Street, Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Carrie Stuart said. After a routine search
of the home, the body was discovered in a bedroom closet.
It was not known if the mother and daughter lived at the residence,
Stuart said. Detectives at the scene were trying to determine who was in
the home that morning. The investigation is ongoing.
[Updated at 4:50 p.m.: Homicide detectives later
arrested the girl's uncle, 25-year-old Julian Carter, as a suspect in
the killing, said Deputy Benjamin Grubb.]

Los Angeles County prosecutors
have charged a Compton man with the murder of his 5-year-old niece,
whose body was found wrapped in a trash bag in his bedroom
closet.The case filed Tuesday against 25-year-old Julian Carter includes a special allegation of
personal use of a deadly weapon. Prosecutors believe he used a knife to
stab Mireya McCall's throat.Carter was arrested Sunday after
McCall's mother reported her daughter missing to the Sheriff's
Department. Deputies searched the apartment and found the body in
Carter's closet.

Carter's arraignment was rescheduled from Tuesday to Thursday and he
remains held on $1.08 million bail. It was not known if he has retained
an attorney.Carter faces up to 26 years in state prison if
convicted.

Barbara Jones said she had a warning ready for her grandchildren
whenever they visited her Compton home. Keep an eye out for her
neighbor, Julian Carter. "I'd tell them, 'If you see Julian walk
up, come inside. I'm too old to be fighting with him,' " the 61-year-old
Jones said Monday. "I'll fight with him, but I don't think I can win."Carter,
25, on Monday was accused of killing his 5-year-old niece, placing her
body in a plastic trash bag and stuffing it into his closet in the
family's home, which is next door to Jones' home. Family members and neighbors were in mourning Monday for the little
girl, who was often seen playing and singing on the street and had just
graduated from kindergarten. "My daughter loved him, and he loved
her. That's why I can't understand. I mean, he loved her," said Mireya
Nila McCall's father, Travon McCall, between sobs. "I grew up with
Julian. We grew up with each other." But neighbors say Carter's
behavior had become increasingly bizarre and menacing. Last
August, he slapped a 3-year-old neighbor girl, hard, in the face.
Sheriff's deputies took Carter away, said Wendy Walker, 29, that girl's
mother. His behavior just got stranger and stranger, she said. Walker
said that in January, she caught him snarling profanities at her
daughter through her window. Carter used to have a job; he
dressed well and loved to dance, Walker said. He used to go to her house
to play dominoes and other games, Walker said. He used to play kickball
with her daughter, who was close to Mireya. Carter sang gospel songs
too, she added. "He was raised in the church," Walker said. "We
used to hang out during the holidays.... That dude was a dancer. He
loved to dance." But in recent years, Carter's odd behavior grew
worse, and neighbors said he would sometimes dance in the middle of the
street from before dawn into the late afternoon. Sometimes he danced
during downpours. Neighbors said they thought he was into heavy
drugs. Brandon Ellison, 27, said Carter cut a "zombie-like" figure in
the neighborhood. Jones said he developed a hard stare.
"He looked at you like he wanted to kill you," she said. "Like he hated
you." Not long ago, she said, Carter tried to break into her
house. Jones said he knew she was there, and she grabbed a knife. Before
she could get help, one of his brothers stopped him and dragged him
away, Jones said. "It was in broad daylight," she said. "It's
like he got a hold of some really bad stuff, and he was tripping."

Murder charges filed against man who allegedly killed niece in Compton
By Denise Nix on June 15, 2010 10:49 AM


Girl's uncle charged with murder

COMPTON -- A 25-year-old Compton man was charged with the murder of his 5-year-old niece, whose body was discovered wrapped in a trash bag inside a closet in the family's apartment.

Julian Carter, (dob 5-6-85), is scheduled to be arraigned today at Compton Superior Court, Department 12. He is charged in case TA112779 with one count of murder with the special allegation of personal use of a deadly weapon, a knife, said Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link with the VIP Unit. He is being held on $1.08 million bail.

Carter was arrested Sunday after family members called the Sheriff's Department to report Mireya McCall missing. Her body was later discovered in the defendant's bedroom closet with stab wounds to her throat.

If convicted, he faces up to 26 years in state prison.

http://www.insidesocal.com/crime&courts/2010/06/murder-charges-filed-against-m.html

Mireya McCall, 5 [Updated]
Died June 13, 2010 at 7:38 a.m.



Mireya McCall, a 5-year-old black girl, died Sunday, June 13, in the 1100 block of East Peck Street in Compton, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

The girl’s mother had reported her missing about 7 a.m. Sunday and directed deputies to a residence, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Carrie Stuart said. After a routine search of the home, the body was discovered stuffed in a trash bag in a bedroom closet.

According to preliminary information provided by the coroner's office, Mireya suffered sharp force trauma to the neck.

Homicide detectives later arrested the girl's uncle, Julian Carter, as a suspect in the killing, said Deputy Benjamin Grubb.

Family members told KTLA that Carter, a 25-year-old black man, had a history of violent behavior. It was unclear whether he lived in the home with the girl.

"It's a tragedy. That's my joy. That's my everything," Mireya's father, Travon McCall, told KTLA News, fighting back tears.

[Updated Feb. 22, 3:45 p.m.: A spokeswoman from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Carter is scheduled to appear at the Compton Superior Court on Mar. 8 for a pretrial conference. A jury trial is planned for April 4.

Carter is currently being held in lieu of $1.8-million bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown.]

— Corina Knoll and Sarah Ardalani

http://projects.latimes.com/homicide/post/mireya-mccall/