LOS ANGELES, CA – A horrifying discovery was made on the 405 Freeway in Westchester on Monday morning when law enforcement officials discovered two children, one of which being an infant later pronounced dead. According to local law enforcement, the disturbing incident is linked to a murder in Woodland Hills and a fatal car crash in Redondo Beach.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers responded to a call from a driver who reported seeing two children on the freeway around 4:30 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found two girls: a 9-year-old on the right shoulder of the highway with minor injuries, and a baby around 5 or 6 months old in the roadway, who later died on the scene.
Authorities are working on the theory that the children’s mother, a woman thought to be in her mid-30s, committed a homicide around 3:30 a.m. at The Montecito Apartment complex in Woodland Hills, before fleeing with her children in a black Porsche. The murder victim was later identified as 29-year-old Jaelen Allen Chaney by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. A neighbor, upon hearing loud noises and a struggle, discovered Chaney’s body, prompting a call to 911.
Police are still determining the events that led to the two girls being found on the freeway. It is not yet clear if they fell from the car or were forcefully ejected. After the children were found, it is thought that their mother continued to drive along the 405 freeway, ultimately losing her life when her vehicle crashed into a tree near a church on Pacific Coast Highway around 5 a.m.