Sheriff’s officials say there are two suspects in custody, but
that they won’t allow release of public records on the two
residents of the home where the 18-month-old girl’s body was found
today.
HOLLISTER
County authorities have been ordered against releasing information about the two residents of the home where an 18-month-old was found dead this morning, while a press conference has been set for 11 a.m. Thursday when Sheriff Curtis Hill expects to disclose more about the tragic case.
An 18-month-old girl was shot in the chest and killed at 2370 Shore Road, and San Benito County authorities have two suspects in custody after finding a .357 Magnum outside the house, Undersheriff Pat Turturici said at the scene. San Benito County firefighters, meanwhile, entered the house at around 10:30 a.m. with a chainsaw, but the purpose was unclear.
Although the undersheriff declined to identify the two people or their relationship to the child, the residents of that address are John and Cheryl Busch.
Reached by phone today, Hill said authorities would not release anymore information until the press conference.
“Two suspects are in custody. The crime scene is being processed. And the victim in Salinas will undergo an autopsy, and we’ll have information at the press conference tomorrow at 11,” Hill said.
An open records attorney, however, contended that the county apparently has no legal right to withhold otherwise available records on the home’s residents.
“The issue is that you need to base your report on some sort of documentation, and the law does not appear to be followed in this case,” said Tom Newton, general counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association. He noted that the only exceptions for public release are when information would harm the investigation or put someone in harm’s way.
Authorities are continuing to investigate after responding to the home outside Hollister shortly before 10 a.m. They found a .357 Magnum outside the house shortly after the body’s discovery, but authorities hadn’t verified if it was the weapon used against the infant, Turturici said.
“This is terrible. This is heartbreaking,” said Turturici, who declined to comment further.
Many sheriff’s officers responded this morning, and District Attorney Candice Hooper also arrived on the scene.
The property includes a house, two barns and poultry-like pens. Cheryl’s Chateau, a pet-grooming and boarding business, was run by Busch out of the residence and outbuildings.
A woman on the property shortly after authorities arrived was crying and visibly upset and, at one point, had to be examined by paramedics.
A San Benito County Jail worker, meanwhile, told the Free Lance today that authorities had been ordered they cannot release any information, including public records, on either John or Cheryl Busch.
