A toddler who investigators say died last week of blunt force trauma was the great-granddaughter of a Jamul Indian Village tribal leader.
Leah Brown-Meza died Tuesday of blunt force trauma, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. The 18-month-old was found unresponsive at an Alpine home just after noon on December 6. Investigators said they found injuries on the child's body.
Lillie Brown, Leah's mother, faces criminal charges in the death along with her boyfriend, Wiliey Kevin Foster.
Foster, 26, was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday but the hearing was trailed to Thursday.
He appeared in court and sat quietly while his defense attorney requested the scheduling change.
The toddler's biological father and other family members sat quietly in the courtroom. In the hallway, after the hearing, a few of them exchanged angry words with the family members of the defendant.
"All parties are suffering but the people that are accused are suffering from the allegations. The people tied to the baby obviously are suffering, they feel pain and my heart goes out to all of them," said defense attorney Gretchen Von Helms. "It's a horrible, horrible time."
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Foster faces charges of murder and assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily harm or death. He was ordered held on $2 million bail.
Lillie Brown, who told deputies she awakened to find her daughter unresponsive, was arrested Monday on three counts of willful cruelty to a child with great bodily injury and/or death.
"We believe the evidence will show Lilly [sic] knew of the injuries and knew the severity of the injuries, yet made a conscious decision not to protect Leah or seek medical attention, because she feared investigations into those injuries," said Lt. Kenn Nelson.
She has been booked into the Las Colinas Women's Detention and Reentry Facility. Her arraignment is scheduled for Thursday. Bail is estimated to be $300,000 according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The toddler was living in a mobile home parked outside a home on Hunter Lane in Alpine. The home belongs to Foster's parents.
Von Helms said she was retained by Foster's family.
Leah's paternal great-grandfather, Kenneth Meza, is currently the Vice Chair for the Jamul Indian Village, one of 13 bands of the Kumeyaay Nation. He served as Chair of the tribe for more than 30 years and was instrumental in getting the band recognized by the federal government.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Homicide Detail at (858)974-2321.
