Hunt for gunman who left baby’s body in rubbish bin

Detectives trying to determine who abducted a three-week-old infant after shooting her parents and uncle at a Southern California home have few clues and are asking for the public’s help, officials said yesterday.

The baby, a 10lb girl named Eliza Delacruz, was found dead on Sunday in a trash bin in Imperial Beach, about 160km south of Long Beach, where her relatives were shot the day before.

Her body was discovered by a transient just a few miles from the Mexican border, raising the possibility the assailant crossed or hoped to cross into Mexico.

Long Beach detectives believe the family was targeted for some reason but do not yet know the motive, police spokeswoman Marlene Arrona said. They would say only that they are looking for a male suspect who is either black or Hispanic.

The Long Beach residence showed no sign of forced entry, and nothing was taken, homicide Lt. Lloyd Cox told the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

“We believe that this is not a random act,” Cox said. “We are going through the backgrounds of all the individuals who live here, but it appears to be very personal.”

Police yesterday defended their decision not to issue an Amber Alert for the child because they had no description of the suspect’s vehicle.

“One of the criteria for that is having a licence plate number. We don’t even have that,” Arrona said.