A 6-year-old girl who got in the middle of a fight between her mother and a boyfriend was beaten to death by the man, police said.
The 26-year-old mother and 24-year-old boyfriend were arguing early Wednesday in a Southwest Side apartment when the little girl, identified as Alma Manjarrez, tried to intervene, officer Thomas Donegan said. Later, around 3:30 a.m., the mother noticed the girl was having difficulty breathing and began to vomit.
Alma was taken to Holy Cross Hospital and later transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she died at 11:59 a.m. Wednesday. The mother was treated at Cook County Hospital.
The names of the mother and her boyfriend were not released.
The man, who is not the girl's father, was in police custody, and the child's death was being investigated as a homicide.
No charges had been filed as of Wednesday evening.