Brenda Jean Saxton, 55

Brenda Saxton, a 55-year-old black woman, died on Saturday, Sept. 5 after she was strangled in the 3000 block of East Avenue J14 in Lancaster, according to Los Angeles County coroner's officials.

Saxton was strangled in an apparent struggle with a family member on Sept. 4, said Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner's office. She was taken to the hospital and died the next day at 6:40 p.m.

[Update at 1 p.m. Sept. 14: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Eddy Brown said the incident apparently began when Saxton got into an argument with her son's fiancée that escalated into a physical fight. The fiancée, Darnesha Newman, a 25-year-old black woman, was visiting Saxton at her home when the fight broke out, Brown said.

Brown said he did not know what the argument was about because the only witness to the incident was in another room when it began. He said both women had been drinking, and the fight escalated until Newman placed Saxton in a choke hold.

Sheriff's officials said they have taken the case to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office for prosecution. Brown said coroner's investigators need to perform additional tests before charges are considered.

Newman was arrested Sept. 4 on an unrelated charge of driving with a revoked license and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges, district attorney's officials said. She was sentenced to 30 days incarceration and released on Sept. 11, according to Sheriff's Department jail records.]

-- Anthony Pesce