“We always wanted a big family,” Miriam said. According to Alex and Miriam, Johanna lashed out and made an allegation of sexual abuse against a man the Gutierrezes had let live in the den. Johanna told him she’d rather die than go back to the facility. But when their radios crackled to life, they abruptly told Alex they needed to leave. Then a deputy walked to the car and asked her: “Is that your daughter inside?” Forty-five minutes passed before he told her that Johanna was dead.

Source: Los Angeles Times May 15, 2024 17:20 UTC