Dead Baby Found On 405 Freeway Linked To Valley Homicide And Fatal Crash: Reports

CULVER CITY, CA — As the investigation into the death of an infant who was found inexplicably on the 405 Freeway continued Monday, police say the incident is part of a series of deadly early-morning events that began with a murder in Woodland Hills.

Officers responded to the area of the Sepulveda Boulevard/Howard Hughes Parkway exit of the northbound freeway at around 4:30 a.m. Monday following a report of a crash. At the scene, officers found two girls: a baby believed to be 5 or 6 months old, who was in the roadway, and a girl between 7 and 9 years old on the right shoulder, CHP officers said at a news conference.

The infant died at the scene. The older girl was transported to a local hospital for treatment of "moderate" injuries, according to the CHP.

CHP officers on Monday morning said they were unsure of how the children ended up on the freeway. But later in the day, the Los Angeles Police Department linked the incident to a woman — the children's mother — who is suspected of killing her husband in the San Fernando Valley earlier Monday morning, KCAL reported.

The woman may have died later that morning in a crash in Redondo Beach, Fox 11 and KNX reported, citing law enforcement sources.

The deadly string of events began when the woman stabbed her husband to death after a fight at their Woodland Hills apartment. After leaving the scene with her children, she removed them from the car on the 405 Freeway, KCAL reported, citing Valley homicide detectives.

The girls were found on the freeway at about 4:30 a.m., police said.

The woman's car crashed in Redondo Beach at around 5 a.m. on Pacific Coast Highway near Vincent Street, resulting in her death, Fox 11 reported.

The Redondo Beach Police Department said the crash occurred when the woman was driving southbound on PCH when she lost control of her car and crashed into a tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Patch has reached out to Redondo Beach police for additional information.

The murder investigation began after a man's body was found at a Woodland Hills apartment complex on Variel Avenue at around 7:30 a.m., ABC 7 reported.

"While conducting their investigation homicide detectives learned of two additional incidents that occurred earlier in in the morning, one on the 405 Freeway involving two young children and a second in Redondo Beach involving a traffic collision," the LAPD said in a statement.

LAPD detectives are working with the CHP on the investigation and confirmed they believe the homicide and the children are linked. They are also working with Redondo Beach police and the medical examiner's office to determine if the PCH crash is also related, the LAPD said.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the CHP Southern Division Major Crimes office at 323-644-9550, or the CHP Traffic Management Center at 323-259-3200.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

City News Service contributed to this report