Maliaya Kai Tademy, 2

Maliaya Tademy, a 2-year-old black girl, was fatally stabbed Monday, May 2, in the 3500 block of Arlington Avenue in Jefferson Park, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Shortly before 10 p.m., officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call of a battery at a home and found Ebony Epps, 22, and her daughter, Maliaya, inside with multiple stab wounds, police said.

Both were taken to a hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.

Epps, who is pregnant, remains hospitalized. The unborn child is expected to survive.

The suspect in the stabbing, Lataz Gray, a 22-year-old black man, had been dating Epps for about six months. Gray moved into the home about a month ago, and is not Maliaya's father, police told The Times.

After the stabbing, Gray was treated at a hospital for a cut for his hand.

At some point, he was in touch with his father, who persuaded him to turn himself in, police said.

Gray was charged Thursday with one count of murder with a special use allegation that he used a knife and two counts of attempted murder, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors requested that his bail be set at $4.5 million. According to court records, Gray, a known gang member, was convicted of second-degree robbery in 2011 and false imprisonment in 2014. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (323) 786-5110. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.