LA County has filed a lawsuit over alleged child abuse that killed a one-year-old

The mother of Tilly Servin, an infant who prosecutors believe was abused to death in Long Beach last year, is suing a Los Angeles County child protection agency for leaving her daughter in the custody of the child’s father, who was previously sentenced to four years in prison for child abuse.

In the case filed on Feb. 19, Alexis Servin says the Department of Children and Family Services should have known the child’s father, Alfredo Muñoz Jr., and stepmother, Kelly Muñoz, posed “substantial and foreseeable danger.” The couple was charged with abusing two children in November 2021.

Alfredo, 41, and Kelly Muñoz, 34, were arrested on suspicion killing and torture in November after Tilly was rushed to the hospital with a serious brain injury. Both pleaded not guilty to child abuse charges.

Alfredo Muñoz initially said he tripped over a baby gate while holding Tilly, according to an autopsy report from the LA County medical examiner.

Tilly died on Nov. 10. An autopsy found a “constellation of injuries that could not be explained by a single accidental low or short-distance fall,” including severe head trauma and severe spinal cord injury.

At 14 months old, Tilly had “caused repeated trauma,” the medical examiner found.

Tilly was the latest in a long line of children to die under the care of the Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS.

The center said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened to hear of the tragedy involving 14-month-old Tilly S.” but he said state law prevents officials from commenting further.

At a press conference Wednesday in downtown LA, Servin remembered her daughter as a bubbly little baby with blue eyes who were filled with joy when she saw Elmo.

Servin, who lost custody of her daughter when the baby was about 5 months old, said she began to believe Tilly was in danger after she was sent a photo shortly before she died.

“I had a strange feeling,” Servin said. “We got one picture of him on his birthday, Aug. 29. He looked very emaciated and thin and just small — and he had an injury on his forehead.”

During the December hearing, LA County Deputy Dist. He said. Brian Rosenberg told the judge that Tilly was repeatedly deprived of food and suffered multiple broken bones – allegedly at the hands of her father and stepmother.

“This little girl had a broken tibia, not once but twice, a broken foot, two broken ribs,” Rosenberg said, according to court documents.

Rosenberg said Tilly eventually died from a fractured skull.

The couple also took videos of the alleged abuse, Rosenberg said. Prosecutors accused Muñoz of confiscating a spoonful of cinnamon to the little girl, according to the document, and starving her to a sickly state, leaving the child “thin,” according to the document.

“There’s even a video of Alfredo holding food with his hands. I don’t know if it’s a sandwich, chicken fingers, or whatever. [he is] eating happily, pointing at him when he tried to grab it,” said Rosenberg, according to the text.

Servin said Tilly was placed with the couple after DCFS removed her from their care following a suspected fentanyl test. He denied that he did the test and said it was not clear why he was deprived of custody.

Tilly lived briefly with her grandfather, Servin said, before DCFS placed her with Alfredo Muñoz, despite a 2021 child abuse conviction.

In that case, police found methamphetamine and pill bottles at Muñozes’ residence on Pine Avenue in Long Beach, according to a pretrial investigation report. Police found two guns and two grams of meth during the search, records said. Neither child was physically injured, records show. Alfredo and Kelly Muñoz pleaded not guilty to child abuse charges.

Tilly’s placement came despite warnings from a DCFS-affiliated investigator, according to a March 5 email sent to Servin. The investigator said he was concerned about Alfredo Muñoz’s history of drug use, which he believed made Muñoz “unable to provide for a child normally,” according to an email cited in the lawsuit.

“The father’s history of substance abuse endangers the physical health and safety of the child and puts the child at risk of serious physical harm,” the investigator wrote.

Alfredo Muñoz has been arrested numerous times before for burglary, assault, theft of vehicles and weapons as well as drug and resisting arrest charges, according to court records. He was charged with attempted murder at a young age and tried as an adult, although probation reports do not indicate how that case was resolved. He was last released from state prison in 2023, according to a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“Dad should have been disqualified from taking Tilly Servin because she has a rap sheet longer than a novel,” said Brian Claypool, an attorney representing Servin. “This is the guy that LA County DCFS said, ‘You can take care of a 14-month-old.’

The lawsuit alleges DCFS was well aware of the couple’s “violent history” as the agency had filed a lawsuit related to previous charges against them.

Claypool has represented many families of children killed while in DCFS custody, including the infamous cases of Anthony Avalos and Noah Cuatro, two boys who were abused by their parents. Those cases were settled for $32 million and $20 million, respectively.

“They failed miserably in this case, and they will pay the price,” Claypool said of DCFS. “This is as bad as it gets.”