Richmond police arrest parents on suspicion of murdering 5-week-old baby boy
RICHMOND, Calif. - Richmond police have arrested two parents on suspicion of murder and child abuse charges stemming from the death of their baby.
In a news release, Sgt. Aaron Pomeroy said an employee at the Mariott Courtyard Hotel on Garrity way called 911 on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to report that a couple had rushed out of the building with their baby, saying the boy wasn't breathing and they were going to the hospital.
The Marriott Courtyard is currently being used by Contra Costa County to assist with housing unsheltered poeple during the COVID-19 pandemic. Police said that's why this family was there.
Twenty minutes later, someone from Kaiser Hospital-Richmond called police to say they had a five-week-old baby who had arrived at the hospital dead.
Pomeroy said the "child had obvious signs of abuse."
Richmond homicide detectives began interviewing both parents and they also met with other witnesses.
In the end, police arrested Ray Ray Darn, 35, and Marilyn Northington, 28, but they have not revealed any more details than that. Efforts to speak to the parents or determine if they had an attorney were not immediately successful.
They are being held on $1.1 million bail at the Martinez Detention Center.
Facebook pages show pictures of the couple with their children. Darn posted that he has been a line cook and Northington listed her most recent job as a security guard. Their pages are filled with images that look happy and loving. Northington especially posted many pictures of her children over the years.
The couple had two other toddlers that were taken into protective custody and turned over to Child Family Services, police said.
Pomeroy said this case will be presented to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office early next week for review of criminal charges.
A DA spokesman on Friday confirmed his office does not yet have the case.