Arrest: Couple taken in by police after beating death of 2-year-old foster child

July 20, 2010, 6:16 p.m.

Los Angeles police have arrested a foster mother and her boyfriend for the second time in connection with the March death of a toddler who was in their care.

Kiana Barker, a 30-year-old black woman, was arrested by police Thursday, July 15. According to the felony complaint provided by the district attorney's office, she has been charged with one count of murder, one count of assault on a child causing death, one count of child abuse and one count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.

Barker's boyfriend, James Julian, a 38-year-old black man, surrendered to police Saturday, July 17. He has been charged with one count of accessory after the fact and one count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.

According to the coroner's report, Barker told authorities that on March 4 her foster daughter, Viola Vanclief, a 2-year-old black girl, got trapped in a bed frame. In an attempt to free her, Barker said she accidentally struck the toddler with a hammer, yet no medical attention was immediately sought, according to coroner's records.

Viola was later taken to California Hospital Medical Center in downtown, where she was pronounced dead at 4:26 p.m. The child had several large bruised areas on her body.

Barker and Julian initially were arrested March 9 in connection with Viola's death; however they were released two days later, with no charges filed.

Reporter Garrett Therolf has more in LA Now: Foster mother, boyfriend arrested in connection with hammer-beating death of 2-year-old-girl

-- Sarah Ardalani

18 reader comments

I wanted to address the commenters questioning why the race of the individuals arrested in connection with Kiana's death was given in this report. Since its start in 2007, the Homicide Report has included the race/ethnicity of both the victims and, when known, those accused or convicted in the killings. We do this for all races so there are more than 3,000 examples of people described as white, Asian, black, and Latino throughout the Homicide Report. The decision to include race, which is a departure from the newspaper's typical practice, was made because violence in L.A. County disproportionately affects minority groups and the goal of this project is to provide the most complete picture of homicide in this county. For more information about the decision to include race/ethnicity please use the link below to the FAQ "Why does the Homicide Report give the race of victims and suspects?" or click here: http://projects.latimes.com/homicide/about/#race

— Megan Garvey/Los Angeles Times July 24, 2010 at 9:47 a.m.

I am so sad to know that a mother could use a hammer on a child. I did not know anyone could be so damn cruel. I know that the little girl could never win against those grown up people who beat her. I pray for her soul and I know she is never going to feel any hate or pain again. To the Foster mother and her boyfriend--I hope you are put under the jail or at the very least you two are put to death. As for the DCSF- Many years have passed and they are still putting children in abusive foster homes-they always say that they have too many cases and that they are overwhelmed-Well we the people are overwhelmed with the death of all these children--let some of these unemployed people come in and volunteer and get some on the job training and clear up some of the paper work so these kids can stop being murdered by their foster parents.!!!!!

— Weezy July 22, 2010 at 2:45 p.m.

The Homicide Report

Arrest: Couple taken in by police after beating death of 2-year-old foster child

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18 reader comments