The investigation into a dead infant takes a perplexing turn.

Aric Sleeper here, perplexed by the actions of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, described by Editor Sara Rubin in her latest Spin column in the Weekly.

Under the headline “Horrow Show,” Rubin describes the incident, in which a dead infant was found on the side of Struve Road in Moss Landing on Aug. 1 by police officers and investigators, who decided to call the child “baby Angelita.” 

Initially, the Sheriff’s Office asked for the public’s help to find a vehicle it had captured on Flock surveillance cameras, a fact it touted, and, weeks later, released a statement announcing one arrest had been made in relation to the incident and that two arrest warrants had been issued for the suspects in the case. 

The glaring issue was that the arrest warrant for the 14-year-old mother of the abandoned baby was for murder, and the alleged father of the deceased child was her own. So how could a victim of sexual abuse who was possibly kidnapped and forced to abandon her child be considered a murderer?

The Monterey County District’s Attorney’s Office then issued a statement pointing out that even if she is eventually charged with a crime—she has not been—the young mother is a victim. 

The Sheriff’s Office then delivered another head-scratcher when an Amber Alert was issued for the girl, who is still missing, alongside her father, more than a month later. 

If you’re interested in reading more about the details of the tragic saga, check out Rubin’s latest piece here.