Memorial Held For Baby Killed In West Sacramento: 'She Was Just Perfect'
WEST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A memorial was held Tuesday night at Silvey's Motel in West Sacramento to honor the life of Amanda Marie Owens.
The 1-year-old was found dead inside a motel room on Monday and now her family is looking for answers.
"She was just perfect. There's no word for this," her father Dion Owens said.
Owens is devastated after learning his little girl was killed at Silvey's Motel on Monday. West Sacramento police say officers were called to the 1030 block of West Capitol Avenue for a welfare check and found the baby had died as a result of traumatic injuries.
"I understand what people be talking about when they've lost a kid," he said.
Amanda's 3-year-old brother Elijah Washington was also severely beaten in the same motel room but survived. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Police arrested 43-year-old Derrick Woods, the man accused of killing Amanda, Tuesday afternoon.
Woods' mother, Annette, does not believe her son committed these crimes.
"I know my son did not do this and I feel for him," Annette Woods said.
She said she is upset over the allegations and feels for the children's mother.
"They don't deserve this and that baby did not deserve this," she said. "But I feel for that lady, for her babies."
Derrick Woods has a lengthy criminal history and faced violent charges in the past. According to Sacramento County records, Woods most recently faced charges in 2011 for domestic battery and brandishing a weapon and in 1996 he pleaded no contest to child abuse charges.
His aunt, Antionette Cox, told CBS13 there are two sides to the story.
"Derrick's not that type of person," Cox said.
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In this nightmare, there's one side that will never be told.
"[Amanda] didn't get to know everybody, she didn't get to know life," the victim's aunt, Nikki Owens, said. "When I got to see her she was happy."
A close friend of the family tells CBS13 Elijah Washington, the 3-year-old boy who survived the attack, is in the custody of Child Protective Services.
