Autopsy will be performed on body of 3-week-old girl found in pickup

An autopsy will be performed on the body of a 3-week-old girl found dead Saturday in a pickup truck in Santa Clarita, a coroner’s official said Sunday.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies found the body of Ellorah Rose Warner after her father, Matthew Warner, led them to the truck, parked outside an apartment complex in the 23600 block of Newhall Avenue.

Warner, 30, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder and is being held at the Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles in lieu of $1 million bail, online booking records state. He is to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court in San Fernando on Tuesday.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death will performed, probably on Monday, said Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Fred Corral.

Warner and his girlfriend, the baby’s mother, reported the child missing Friday night. Officials held the couple for questioning as deputies from three stations conducted an all-night search with helicopters, dogs and the help of neighbors.

At about 7 a.m. Saturday, Warner led deputies to the truck, about a mile from the family’s home. Warner was arrested shortly after the baby’s body was found in the cab.

The child’s mother was cooperating with investigators and no other arrests had been made Saturday, according to sheriff’s officials, who offered no new details on Sunday.

The baby’s grandmother Nan Allison told The Times Saturday that her daughter had gone to her job as a day-care provider early Friday and left the baby with Warner in the couple’s bedroom. Later in the day, Allison said, she heard unusual noises coming from the room and thought the baby’s crying seemed weak.

The grandmother said she became suspicious and tried to call police around 5 p.m., but the phone had been disconnected. Warner and the baby were gone by the time she called from a neighbor’s home, she said.

The couple showed up at a sheriff’s station about 9:30 p.m. to report the child missing.

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