Long Beach Schoolgirl to be Buried Today

A 10-year-old Long Beach girl who became nauseous, fell unconscious and died hours after an after-school fight with another fifth grade girl, will be buried today in Hollywood Forever Cemetery after a graveside service.

The fifth-grader who attended Frances Willard Elementary School died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to the L.A. Coroner's Office, and, according to published accounts, may have been kneed in the nose.

Her mother, Cecilia Villanueva, 41, said she heard Joanna was bleeding from the nose after the fight, which the girls had planned that day. The classmate who Joanna fought with, an 11-year-old girl whose name has not been made public, has not been charged with a crime, though coroner's investigators ruled the death a homicide, meaning that Joanna's death was caused by another person.

Witnesses said the fight -- over a boy -- lasted only about a minute and took place in an alley off Anaheim street after normal classes and before an after-school program started.

According to various news accounts, someone from the school aftercare program called Joanna's home about 3:20 p.m. that Friday, and told Villanueva that Joanna was not feeling well. Villanueva had a niece, Silvia Catalan, pick up Joanna at school. Catalan later called Villanueva and told her that Joanna had been hit in the head and was throwing up. Once at home, the girl fell unconscious about 5 p.m.

``Her mouth had turned purple,'' her mother told the Los Angeles Times. ``It was awful.''

Her father, Teofilo Villanueva, told The Times he took her to St. Mary Medical Center, where she was revived and prepared to undergo surgery for blood clots in her head, but her heart stopped in an elevator on the way to the operating room and doctor were unable to save her. She was declared dead about 9 that night.

Joanna's family received mourners at the cemetery yesterday. She would have turned 11 on March 12. After Joanna's death, the school principal Kevin Maddox sent home letters, saying that psychologists would be available to discuss what happened with those students who wanted to talk about it.

Long Beach police detectives, who are handling the death investigation, will make a recommendation to the District Attorney's Office about their findings, and  prosecutors will decide if anyone should be criminally charged in the girl's death.

-City News Service