VENTURA — Authorities in Ventura County say an 8-year-old girl who was found in her mother's apartment days after her death was drowned.

Chief Deputy Medical Examiner James Baroni released the autopsy findings Wednesday for Alaina Stockdill and called the death homicide.

Her mother — 25-year-old Blair Stockdill — appeared in court Wednesday and faces charges of murder and child abuse. Her arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 22.

Ventura police Cmdr. Mark Stadler says a combination of visible evidence and witness statements led investigators to determine that Alaina had been killed. He did not provide additional information.

Stockdill was arrested Monday after police responded to reports of a knife fight between a man and woman.

Inside the home, police found Alaina's body and said she had been dead for several days.


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