Melody Marie Sustait was 1 year old when she died on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, in Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
What little is known comes from coroner's records summarized by the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report. Those records said Melody "showed signs of recent rib fractures and had bruising that was 'inconsistent with report of falling off kitchen chair.'" The report added that "no address was provided," and no later story appears to have followed.
Those few words carry a great deal of weight. They show that someone gave an explanation for Melody's injuries, that she had fallen off a kitchen chair, and that the coroner's investigators did not believe the bruising fit that account. Recent rib fractures in a child her age are the kind of injury that doctors and investigators treat as a warning sign of abuse, which suggests the death was examined as more than a household accident. The record does not say who gave the explanation, who was caring for her, or whether she died at home or in a hospital.
Beyond her name, her age and the date she died, almost nothing about Melody Marie Sustait has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet other than the Homicide Report appears to have mentioned her death. Her surname is uncommon, yet searches turned up no other trace of her short life. She surely had relatives who loved her and remember her, but none of that has entered the public record.
Because no address was released, even the community where Melody lived and died is unknown to the public. The Sheriff's Department patrols the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and dozens of contract cities that do not have their own police forces, from the high desert of the Antelope Valley to the coastal hills and the neighborhoods of the southeast county. The department's Homicide Bureau investigates killings across that territory, including deaths of young children when abuse is suspected. Where in that vast county this case unfolded has never been made public.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Melody Marie Sustait could be found in news archives or public records. More than 16 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Relatives, neighbors, babysitters, doctors, nurses or anyone who knew Melody and her household in the fall of 2009 may remember injuries, explanations that did not add up, or remarks that seemed small at the time. A child of her age could not tell anyone what was happening to her, which makes what adults saw and heard all the more important. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
