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California woman tied up 3-year-old son, placed bag over his head and left him in bedroom as their house burned

Maricela Magana Ruiz was booked into the Ventura County Jail on charges of felony child endangerment and is currently being held on a $50,000 bond.
UPDATED JAN 23, 2020
Maricela Magana Ruiz (Source : Police department)
Maricela Magana Ruiz (Source : Police department)

SANTA PAULA, CALIFORNIA: A California woman has been arrested and charged after police said her three-year-old son was found tied up inside a burning house with a plastic bag over his head.

The horrifying discovery was made after the Santa Paula Police Department received a 911 call at 6.10 pm on Sunday, December 1, about a structure fire on Bahia Circle.

Responding officers found 47-year-old Maricela Magana Ruiz tied to a bed while a young boy was tied up in another part of the home, according to a press release.

Firefighters from the Ventura County Fire Department responded to the scene and rescued Ruiz, hailing from Santa Paula, and the boy, who was later confirmed to be her three-year-old son, while extinguishing a fire in the downstairs living room.

Ruiz and her son were transported to the Santa Paula Hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation. At the same time, detectives from the Santa Paula Police Department responded to the scene along with arson investigators from the Ventura County Fire Department and initiated a criminal investigation.

After lengthy interviews with Ruiz, they determined that the 47-year-old had endangered her son by placing a plastic bag over his head and tying his hands before putting him in a bedroom by himself. It is unclear why or how she had managed to tie herself up.

Her motive remains unknown and the investigation is still on-going. Santa Paula Police Chief Matthew Rodriguez told KTLA that she called several people, including her father, and then dialed 911 to tell the operator that she and her son were tied up.

He said her father also rushed to the house and managed to get inside along with another family member. "The little boy actually was frightened and he exited the bedroom where he had been placed alone in an attempt to save himself and his mother," he revealed.

Ruiz was booked into the Ventura County Jail on charges of felony child endangerment and is currently being held on a $50,000 bond. The investigation regarding the origin of the fire is still on-going.

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