California Man Arrested for Murder After Abandoning His Girlfriend’s Child, Deputies Say

A California man has been charged for the murder of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son after allegedly abandoning him and his brother.

Authorities received a call from a “concerned parent” around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 3 distressed that two of their children were missing, according to a Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office news release. Deputies began searching for the two boys, and it was at 3:55 p.m. that same day where cops located the 2-year-old near train tracks of Brush Street, Ukiah, California—about 115 miles northwest of San Francisco – after receiving a call from a concerned citizen.

The 2-year-old was found suffering life-threatening heat-related symptoms and was transported to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Hospital for immediate medical treatment. Deputies found the body of his 1-year-old brother shortly thereafter.

According to authorities, the children had been left at a hotel in the city of Ukiah under the care of Edward “Two Feathers” Steele, 32, who had been engaged in a romantic relationship with the mother of the boys, Sally Arellano, for the past several months.

On Aug. 2, the night before the boys went missing, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office responded to a possible domestic violence call. When they arrived, both Steele and Arellano were standing in a parking lot of a closed business lot.

Arellano was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence battery, leaving her two children in Steele’s care, the sheriff’s office said.

The day after the boys were found, members of the Hopland Tribal community reported seeing Steele at the Hopland Rancheria, where authorities located him shortly after and took him into custody.

Steele is currently held without bail for the charges of murder and violation of post release community supervision. He is being booked into Mendocino County Jail, where Arellano also remains.