Previous Child Death Cases

Here are some of the previous child death cases in the Antelope Valley:

Feb. 21, 1992--Palmdale resident Ricky Lee Earp, 30, who authorities said was a drug user, is sentenced to die for the rape and murder of his 17-month-old goddaughter. She died in the hospital two days after being left alone with Earp on Aug. 25, 1988.

Sept. 26, 1990--Lancaster resident William Welshans, 24, a methamphetamine addict, is sentenced to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal beating of his 4-year-old stepdaughter, who died Oct. 24, 1989. The girl’s mother is later sentenced to two years in prison for negligence.

Nov. 16, 1989--Hi Vista resident Ernest Pina, 27, is sentenced to four years in prison for child abuse in the July 18, 1988, death of his 2-year-old daughter. He also was charged with sodomizing the child, who was found drowned in a bucket of water, but that charge was dropped.

Oct. 27, 1989--Lancaster resident Christopher Scott Nelson, 22, is sentenced to 15 years to life for the Oct. 31, 1988, murder of his 5-month-old daughter, who suffered a trauma injury to the chest. Nelson’s wife earlier was acquitted of child endangerment.

Feb. 22, 1989--Palmdale resident Ruth Clubb, 18, an admitted methamphetamine user, rolls over on her month-old son in bed and smothers the infant to death hours after taking the drug. The coroner rules the case a homicide, but court records show no criminal charges are filed.

Feb. 10, 1989--Lancaster resident Andra J. Reynolds, 30, is found not guilty by reason of insanity in the Dec. 16, 1987, fatal stabbing of her 4-year-old son. The woman, who said she killed the boy “to save him from the mark of the beast,” is ordered confined to a state mental hospital.

Nov. 10, 1987--Lancaster resident Keith Robert Brewer, 30, is sentenced to 16 years in prison for manufacturing methamphetamine and involuntary manslaughter in the death of his 7-week-old son, who was severely shaken and who died March 15, 1986.

Nov. 10, 1986--Lancaster resident Donna K. Brown, 30, who had a history of mental illness, is sentenced to undergo psychiatric care and is placed on five years probation for involuntary manslaughter in the Oct. 5, 1985, asphyxiation death of her 14-month-old son.