A pair of suspects in connection with an April homicide of a 2-year-old toddler were arrested in Turlock Saturday afternoon. The duo also allegedly abused that toddler’s sister, a 3-year-old girl.
Kalena Marie Olson, 22, and Sergio Zamaro, 23, both of Delhi, were taken into custody by the Turlock Police Department on Saturday.
On April 21, Merced County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on the 9600 block of Hillside Drive in Hilmar at approximately 12:30 a.m. on the report of a deceased child.
It became evident during the course of the investigation that the death of the child was not an accident, said the Merced County Sheriff’s Department in a release.
Olson, the deceased toddler’s mother, was initially arrested and booked for felony child abuse at the beginning of the investigation. An arrest warrant was also issued for Zamora, Olson’s boyfriend, but authorities were not able to bring him into custody.
According to the Merced County Sheriff’s Department, the investigation revealed that the 2-year-old, Hennessy Fagin, and her 3-year-old sister were the victims of ongoing abuse at the hands of Olson and Zamora.
The 3-year-old was released to care and custody of Child Protective Services.
On Saturday, at approximately 3:51 p.m., the Turlock Police Department received information that Olson and Zamora were at a residence on the 900 block of South Avenue in Turlock.
Both suspects had $100 million warrants out of Merced County for the alleged homicide of Fagin.
Officers surrounded the residence and used a bullhorn to call out to the suspects, said Turlock Police spokesperson Lt. Ron Reid. At approximately 4:13 p.m., Zamora fled on foot, but eventually gave himself up to police a few houses down.
Minutes later, Olson came out of the residence with her hands up and surrendered to officers.
Both Olson and Zamora were arrested and booked.
Merced County Pathologist, Dr. Mark A. Super has deemed the cause of death as “sudden unexplained death” of a “probable asphyxia event,” according to the Sheriff’s Department. Dr. Super added that Fagin’s sudden death is typical of a battered child whose brain was deprived of oxygen.
Fagin allegedly died due to the injuries she suffered from the abuse, said the Sheriff’s Department. The Merced County Sheriff’s Department also report that Fagin and her sister suffered similar injuries.
Olson and Zamora are currently in custody in a Stanislaus County Correctional Facility. Extradition to Merced County is currently in process and once transferred, both will be held on felony child abuse and homicide charges.
