Court records reviewed by the Long Beach Post show that a Long Beach man accused of murdering his 14-month-old daughter was granted sole custody of the child just months before her death.
In an interview at her Wilmington home, the girl’s grandmother, Courtney Guerrero, laid blame on the county’s child welfare system, saying it put the 14-month-old in harm’s way.
“I believe that they had a lot to do with her death,” Guerrero said.
Prosecutors allege Tilly Servin was killed by her father, 40-year-old Alfredo Muñoz Jr., and her stepmother, 34-year-old Kelly Muñoz. They say the Long Beach couple repeatedly abused Tilly, breaking “multiple bones,” ultimately leading to her death.
Both Alfredo and Kelly Muñoz have been charged with murder, torture and child abuse causing death. If convicted, they could each face 25 years to life in prison.
Court records show that they both have a prior conviction for felony child abuse dating back to November 2021.
That alleged offense involved a three-year-old girl, according to court documents. As part of the investigation, authorities said they also found methamphetamine and an “open pill bottle containing pills accessible to children” in Alfredo Muñoz’s room.
He and Kelly Muñoz both accepted a plea agreement offered by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, according to a court transcript from the Dec. 14, 2021, hearing.
After pleading no contest, Alfredo Muñoz was sentenced to four years in prison, and Kelly Muñoz was sentenced to 90 days in prison and five years of formal probation. They were also ordered to complete 52 parenting classes.
Alfredo Muñoz completed his sentence in April 2023, according to a prison system spokesperson. And by November that year, he’d finished a drug and alcohol program, he’d been ordered to take.
“Mr. Muñoz has gained insight into the effects that substances have had on his life and has taken responsibility for the poor choices he has made while actively in his addiction,” a counselor who worked with him wrote in a letter to the court.
Tilly was born on Sept. 29, 2024. Alfredo Muñoz and her mother, Alexis Servin, shared custody until he sought sole parental rights, records show. On June 9 this year, a judge sided with him.
The reasons for that decision are not entirely clear. The Long Beach Post is seeking relevant records that are confidential until a child has died as a result of abuse or neglect.
Authorities allege the Muñozs’ abuse of Tilly began less than a month after the custody decision and continued until Nov. 7, when she was brought to a local hospital with signs of trauma. She died three days later.
Guerrero, Tilly’s grandmother, said that she didn’t know about Alfredo Muñoz’s past child abuse conviction until now.
During their interactions, he appeared “kind,” she said.
Despite having sole custody, he had promised to bring Tilly over for weekend visits and barbecues, Guerrero said.
He was supposed to bring Tilly by for Easter, she said, but never showed and stopped answering calls or texts. Guerrero still has the Easter basket she made for her granddaughter.
Guerrero and her daughter, Alexis, hadn’t seen Tilly since April, she said, adding that they were “shocked” by the news of her death.
As part of the custody decision, the court ordered that Tilly’s mother was allowed supervised visitation just once per year for one hour on Mother’s Day in May.
After that decision, Guerrero said she had planned to go to court in January to push for more visitation rights.
“I wish I would have done it sooner,” she said.
Kate Raphael contributed to this report.