May 12, 2016
City News Service
A 22-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing a 2-year-old girl and wounding her pregnant mother — his live-in girlfriend — in the Jefferson Park area was charged on May 6 with murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Lataz Gray appeared in court in downtown Los Angeles, but his arraignment was postponed until May 19. His bail was set at $4.5 million.
According to police, Gray attacked the woman and girl with a knife during a domestic dispute around 9:50 p.m. Monday in the 3500 block of Arlington Avenue. The girl, identified as Maliaya Tademy, died at a hospital, but her mother survived the attack.
The woman was believed to be about five months pregnant.
Police said Gray was not the toddler’s father.
“A 2-year-old innocent victim, stabbed multiple times ... this was one of the most vicious incidents that I have seen and been part of in my 28 years in this police department,” LAPD Capt. Peter Whittingham said.
Phillip Gray told ABC7 that his son called him from a hospital, where he was being treated for cuts to his hand, and he told his son to turn himself in.
“Well, I had to, before they kill him,” Gray said. “I hooked him up on the line with the detective.”
Phillip Gray added that the crime was “a terrible thing, and I’m not feeling good about it at all.”
“(The woman) is a beautiful person, and it blew me out of the water for this to happen,” Gray said. “But like I said, I really don't know what happened.”
Lataz Gray faces up to life in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney’s Office.