A young mother from Arizona has recently been charged with murder in connection with the death of her infant daughter, who died just months after her twin sister also passed away.
Kianna Arvizu Medina, 20, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder as well as felony child abuse, a Tucson Police Department spokesperson shared with PEOPLE on Jan. 7.
Medina is accused of murdering her infant daughter, Daniella Yslas, after the baby was discovered unresponsive in the home one month earlier.
In a report by the state’s Department of Child Safety, “Medina swaddled Daniella in a blanket with a knot tied at the back of her neck, which caused the edge of the blanket to press tightly against her neck,” KOLD reports.
Medina then reportedly “laid Daniella face-down to sleep and surrounded her with blankets and pillows.”
“Medina placed an approximately 5-pound memory foam pillow on Daniela’s back. Medina then left Daniella alone in the room,” the report states, according to KOLD.
Eight months prior to Daniella’s death, her twin sister, Esmeralda Guadalupe Yslas, died. The twins were born prematurely in January 2019.
According to a GoFundMe started by Medina, the cause was sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
The DCS ruled Esmeralda’s death was as accidental. The police’s investigation did not lead to any arrests.
Currently, Medina is out on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on April 30 for a status conference. It is unclear is she has entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on her behalf.
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