A Santa Maria man is charged with murder in connection with the death of a 19-month-old child authorities are calling "Jane Doe."
Sean Michael Kothe, 24, of Santa Maria, is facing one count of murder along with assault on a child causing death and drug possession, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Kothe entered not-guilty pleas during arraignment Wednesday morning in Santa Maria Superior Court and remains in custody at County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
At around 4 p.m. Sunday, sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a possible child abuse investigation at Marian Regional Medical Center.
After evaluating the child, emergency room medical staff determined the child suffered from head trauma, which was inconsistent with the information provided by the child's mother. Due to the severity of the injuries, the toddler was airlifted to Valley Children's Hospital in Madera for treatment.
Despite efforts to save her life, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, the toddler was pronounced brain-dead, and all life-saving measures were ended.
During their investigation at Marian Regional Medical Center, detectives interviewed the mother, Jackeline Molina-Rodriguez, of Oceano. Detectives later located her boyfriend, 24-year-old Sean Kothe, at his Orcutt residence where Molina-Rodriguez and her daughter had been staying.
At around 2 a.m. Monday, sheriff's detectives served a search warrant at Kothe's residence, where Molina-Rodriguez was arrested for child endangerment and booked into County Jail. Molina-Rodriguez was released from custody Tuesday.
Kothe was arrested Monday for an outstanding warrant and possession of drug paraphernalia and booked into County Jail.
A team of detectives traveled to Madera County to interview additional family members and medical staff. Another team of detectives continued the investigation in Orcutt, locating additional witnesses and information.
A preliminary hearing in the case has been set for July 13 in Department 8.