A vigil was held on Sunday for a 3-year-old California girl who was discovered dead a day earlier, the Napa Valley Register reported.
On Saturday, Napa Valley police officers found Kayleigh Slusher dead in her home around 1 p.m. Not even 24 hours later, Slusher's mother, Sara Krueger, and Krueger's boyfriend, Ryan Scott Warner, were arrested on possible homicide charges.
The day after her death, neighbors and friends gathered with lit candles, stuffed animals, and other gifts outside of Kayleigh's apartment to remember the young girl her grandfather referred to as "the proudest moment" of his life.
"This is the saddest part of any grandparent's life," said the girl's grandfather John Krueger. "The proudest moment of my life is gone forever, and there's nothing we can do or say that will bring her back."
Napa Police Lt. Debbie Peecook announced on Sunday that authorities are seeking charges of homicide with special circumstances and assault resulting in a child's death against Krueger, 23, and Warner, 26. At a news conference, Peecook added an arraignment is possible by the end of the week.
Both Krueger and Warner were last seen carrying luggage out of their apartment on Saturday around 10 a.m., three hours before Kayleigh was found. Neither responded to calls made to their cell phones. Around 11 a.m. Sunday, they were located at El Cerrito del Norte train station after someone made an anonymous tip to police.
An autopsy report is expected by Monday, Peecook said.
Elizabeth Chechourka, the property manager of Royal Garden, said Warner "moved in about 10 months ago and it all went downhill from there," adding Krueger "got really skinny and they started smoking all around the apartment."
