Photo: (Daily Mail online)
RICHMOND — The parents of a 5-week-old infant who died earlier this month are being held in custody in lieu of $1.1 million bond. They were arrested for murder and other charges after police received calls from a hotel and a hospital.
Police received a call from the Marriot Courtyard Hotel on Garrity Way on February 4. An employee reported a couple rushed out of the hotel with an infant they said was not breathing. They were on the way to a hospital.
About a half hour later at 6:55 p.m., police received a call from Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center. This second caller reported that an infant brought to the hospital was pronounced dead.
Richmond police converged at the hotel and hospital to investigate. “The child had obvious signs of abuse,” according to a prepared statement released by Richmond PD.
The parents living at the hotel were arrested after being questioned by officers, who also spoke with witnesses. Ray Ray Darn, 35 and Marilyn Northington, 28, were booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. They are both charged with murder, assault causing great bodily injury, and child abuse.
The couple’s two other young children have been taken into protective custody and turned over to Child Family Services.
The family was previously homeless and was being provided shelter at the hotel by Contra Costa County. Incidentally, Darn had two prior arrests last year—one was for possession of narcotics.
This infant’s death remains under investigation. Anyone with information can call Richmond police detective Brian Hoffman at 510-621-1755
