Two people are behind bars after the body of a young child is found at a Bakersfield hotel.

Ray Mata, Jr., 31, of Bakersfield, and Graciela Bustamonte, 27, of Delano, were apprehended on suspicion of murder, torture and several counts of child abuse. The arrests came after police responded Saturday evening to reports of an unconscious child inside a room at La Quinta Inn on Riverside Drive near Buck Owens Boulevard.

Officers forced their way into the room to find an 8-year-old girl suffering from substantial trauma dead in a bathtub.

Mata and Bustamonte were arrested Sunday morning and are due in court August 5, 2025.

Court documents indicate a man with the same name and birth year as Mata has prior gun and drug convictions. There are no prior cases listed for Bustamonte.