Los Angeles, CA: Dad charged with killing daughter, ex-girlfriend

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The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 3, 2010; 10:28 PM
LOS ANGELES -- A man who authorities say deliberately ran his truck into the bedroom where his newborn baby and her mother were sleeping was charged Wednesday with two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder.

Eduardo Villareal, 21, made his initial court appearance, and a judge postponed his arraignment until Nov. 24.

Prosecutors say he crashed his Cadillac Escalade into the Boyle Heights home Sunday after an argument with his girlfriend over their 10-day-old baby.

The baby and her mother were killed. There were six others in the house, and one person was seriously injured.

The criminal complaint against Villareal alleges he used the vehicle as a deadly weapon, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Marguerite Rizzo said in a statement.



Villareal also was charged with the special circumstance of multiple murders - making him eligible for the death penalty - though prosecutors have not yet decided whether they'll seek it.

On Sunday, Villareal and the mother, Trudy Bonilla, were at a family gathering with their baby, Naomi, family members told The Associated Press. The two dated for more than a year but had broken up a few months earlier.

They got into a fight and Villareal left with the baby, but a relative followed him and persuaded him to give her back.

Shortly after, Villareal returned to the house in his SUV and plowed into the bedroom, police and prosecutors said. More than half the truck ended up inside.

Bonilla's 3-year-old child from another father was also in the bedroom but was not hurt.

Bonilla's parents and three siblings were also in the house. One of them was seriously injured, but authorities did not say which one.

Villareal told investigators he deliberately drove into the house but was only trying to kill himself, police said.

Police said Villareal has no history of mental illness or prior police contacts, and there was no indication that he'd been drinking.