A foster care mother and her boyfriend are under investigation in the death of a two-year-old girl. The death of Viola Vanclief on March 4 has been ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

According to a coroner's report, Vanclief was beaten with a hammer by her foster care mother, Kiana Barker. According to brief notes by the coroner's office, Barker told investigators that Vanclief “was trapped in the frame of a bed and she had accidentally struck the toddler with a hammer while trying to free her. No medical attention was sought. The child has multiple large bruised areas to her body.” (Map and more info after the jump …):


View Larger MapBarker and her ex-con boyfriend, James Sullivan, 38, were arrested a week ago by LAPD Juvenile Division detectives. Barker and Sullivan, who had been convicted for felony robbery using a gun in 1998, lived with the toddler in the 500 block of East Gage Avenue in South Los Angeles.

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