A 4-year-old girl who was found dead inside a parked vehicle in Valley Village on Tuesday, May 19, has been identified.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Wednesday, May 20, identified the child as Adina Nevo.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, emergency crews were dispatched to the 12700 block of McCormick Street at about 3:51 p.m. after reports of a medical emergency involving a child.
Responders arrived to find the girl unresponsive inside a vehicle. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel pronounced her dead at the scene.
Authorities initially treated the case as a possible child abuse investigation before it was escalated into a death investigation.
A source close to the family, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told the Los Angeles Times that the girl had been part of a neighborhood carpool earlier in the day.
The child was reportedly still inside the vehicle and was only discovered when her mother arrived at preschool to pick her up.
Investigators have not yet determined how long she may have been inside the vehicle or why she was not removed. Temperatures in the San Fernando Valley reached the upper 80s on Tuesday.
The medical examiner has deferred the official cause of death and listed the place of death as a vehicle.
Neighbors described the incident as deeply distressing for the devout Jewish community in Valley Village, where many families are closely connected.
At least two neighbors told ABC7 that a father had driven the morning carpool and allegedly did not realize the girl remained in the vehicle after the drop-off.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Juvenile Division, including its child abuse unit, is leading the investigation.
Capt. Warner Castillo described the case as a “possible homicide” to ABC7, as detectives continue interviewing witnesses and working to establish a timeline.
No arrests have been made.
