LAWNDALE : Children Lived 3 Days With Body of Mother

Two children lived in a Lawndale apartment for three days with the body of their mother but never told neighbors, sheriff’s officials said.

The body of Sheri Carriger, 28, was discovered in the bathtub of the one-bedroom apartment after her boyfriend surrendered to authorities, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Sieber.

Her boyfriend, Thomas Smith, was booked for investigation of murder. Smith, 38, was being held without bail Thursday.

Carriger’s 5-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son were taken into protective custody.

The girl told deputies that she was glad they arrived Monday because her mother’s body was in the bathtub and she did not want to have to see it again, Sieber said.

Residents in the eight-unit apartment complex said the 5-year-old had played outdoors as usual and that the 10-year-old left the home several times to go to the grocery store but that he did not say anything about his mother’s death.