Connections studied in California deaths

LOS ANGELES — Authorities were investigating any connections between the deaths of an infant girl found Monday on the shoulder of a Los Angeles area freeway, a man discovered slain at a suburban apartment complex and a woman killed in a solo car crash near a beach.

The series of events began when officers came upon the infant and a 9-year-old girl around 4:30 a.m. on the side of Interstate 405 in Culver City.

The infant, believed to be about 6 months old, suffered unspecified trauma and died at the scene, said California Highway Patrol Officer Frank Salas. The older girl was hospitalized with moderate injuries, he said.

A 911 caller told authorities that a black sedan was seen in the area where the girls were found, Salas said, though it was not clear if the children came from that car.

Next, Los Angeles police responded shortly after 7:30 a.m. to an apartment in the Woodland Hills neighborhood following a report of an unresponsive man in his 30s. Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Later, authorities said they were investigating the solo crash of a black sedan that killed the woman behind the wheel around 5 a.m. in Redondo Beach.

Los Angeles police confirmed Monday afternoon that detectives were “working with the California Highway Patrol on the incident involving the two children and believe it is connected to the … homicide scene” at the apartment complex.

They were also working with the Redondo Beach Police Department to determine if the car crash was connected to those two deaths, Los Angeles police said on X, formerly Twitter.