Baby's death on 405 linked to Woodland Hills homicide, and possibly Redondo Beach crash (2024)

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WESTCHESTER, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A bloody homicide scene in Woodland Hills is linked to the death of a baby found Monday morning on the 405 Freeway, investigators say - and both incidents could also be connected to a deadly crash in Redondo Beach.

The carnage was discovered Monday over a period of several hours in three separate Los Angeles-area locations. As investigators started looking at each incident they realized there were links between them.

First, around 4:30 a.m. a baby girl believed to be around 6 months old was pronounced dead after she was found in lanes of traffic on the 405 Freeway in the Westchester area. A second girl, around 7-9 years old, was found on the side of the road and hospitalized with injuries.

Then around 5 a.m., there was a deadly crash reported in Redondo Beach. It appears a woman crashed at high speeds into a tree, killng her at the scene.

And then at 7:30 a.m., LAPD's Topanga division was notified of a man's body at an apartment complex in Woodland Hills on Variel Avenue.

Police say they were able to establish definite links between the 405 and Woodland Hills incidents. Sources tell Eyewitness News the older girl who was injured on the freeway was a witness to the Woodland Hills homicide.

The county medical examiner is still working to identify the woman killed in the Redondo Beach crash to confirm her connection to the other incidents.

The nature of those links and how events unfolded has not been disclosed.

"At this time, Valley Bureau Homicide detectives are working with the California Highway Patrol on the incident involving the two children and believe it is connected to the Topanga (Woodland Hills) homicide scene," the LAPD wrote on X.

"They are also collaborating with the Redondo Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office to determine if that scene is related to the homicide on Variel."

Woodland Hills homicide

A man's body was reported found face down at the Montecito apartments on Variel Avenue in Woodland Hills around 7:30 a.m. It was not clear how long he had been deceased before he was found.

Neighbors described a bloody scene at an apartment inside the building.

Crime scene tape was also surrounding a black vehicle in the garage. The garage gate was also damaged.

Neighbors told Eyewitness News they heard loud arguing coming from a unit in the building in the middle of the night.

A 26-year-old woman who lives in the building next to the apartment says in the morning she saw a bloody scene.

"Their door was wide open, there was blood on the floor leading into their apartment, and then a trail of it in the hallway leading up to the elevator and I saw some blood on the wall," she said.

Her father called 911.

"Called the police and told them that something was not right," he recalled. "And they told me, when I spoke to the EMT, to go in and check on the body. So I did. And he was deceased, he was facedown on the floor. And there was a lot of blood."

That incident remains under investigation. The name of the victim has not been released.

Baby, young girl found on 405

The incident involving the children found on the 405 was first reported around 4:30 a.m. at Centinela Avenue in the Westchester area, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers responded to the area after receiving multiple 911 calls about a medical emergency involving two minors.

When they arrived, they found two injured children.

The baby girl, estimated to be 5-6 months old, was found in lanes of traffic on the northbound 405. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another girl, believed to be around 7-9 years old, was found on the right shoulder with injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital.

Eyewitness News has learned the older girl is believed to have been a witness to the stabbing death at the Woodland Hills apartment.

There were no adults at the freeway scene with the children when they were found.

The CHP has not disclosed exactly what happened to the girls or how they were injured and left on the freeway but investigators are asking the public for help. Anyone who may have driven by the area at that time is asked to go back and look at dash cameras.

"Witnesses claim there was a black sedan in the area at the time of the incident," said CHP Officer Isabel Diaz. "They didn't indicate what relation they had, but just possibly involved. If anyone else was in the area, northbound 405 at Centinela Avenue approximate 4:30 (a.m.), we'd appreciate if you could call with any information."

Redondo Beach deadly crash

Around 5 a.m. a single-car deadly crash was reported near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Vincent Street, according to the Redondo Beach Police Department.

It appears the car hit at least one tree on the sidewalk. AIR7 HD was over the scene where there were no visible skid marks on the road.

The female driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. She has not been identified.

Both directions of PCH between Diamond and Emerald streets were shut down during the investigation.