Mom begged for housing before toddler’s death
Amantha Van Cleave is the mother of 1-year-old Yayra Rutherford, who was found dead at an LAX bus stop on Dec. 22. Van Cleave said she’d been begging for housing help from the city of Los Angeles and other organizations for months before her baby’s death.
Amantha Van Cleave, 26, moved to Los Angeles eight months ago to escape a bad relationship.
“This was supposed to be a fresh start. I was with my children’s father, but that wasn’t a situation they needed to be in,” said Van Cleave.
“Housing and stuff fell through because the county building actually promised housing and whatnot, because they made it seem like people with children are a priority, but we ended up sleeping in my car when I had my car,” Van Cleave said. “When my car died, that’s when everything went downhill. We ended up outside, sleeping at LAX for a good two weeks, during all that raining, we were outside.”
“It’s possible that her father may have had some type of heart condition, and I wasn’t told about it, and it’s very possible that she did freeze to death. It’s possible because she was fine the night before. She was fussy, but she had six teeth coming in as well. How does a teething baby go to sleep and just not wake back up,” asked Van Cleave.
Infant found dead near LAX
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating after an infant was found dead on a bus stop near Los Angeles International Airport.
