Sex Crimes, Killing Stepdaughter: Plea Entered

A man accused of sexually assaulting and fatally cutting his 9-year-old stepdaughter in Long Beach pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and other charges, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said.

Jacinto Zuniga Trujillo, 31, allegedly tried to kill himself after the April 28 death of the girl, identified in the criminal complaint only as ``Xiomara J.'' She is Trujillo's stepdaughter.

He is charged with murder and five counts of oral copulation/sexual penetration with a child under the age of 10. The criminal complaint alleges that the sex crimes occurred from Nov. 1, 2011 to the day of the girl's death, April 28, 2012.

The girl's body was found in the parking lot of Los Altos United Methodist Church in the 5900 block of Willow Avenue, near the 405 Freeway. Trujillo was found lying nearby Xiomara's body, which had numerous lacerations. Trujillo had numerous self-inflicted lacerations which Long Beach Police Department and the L.A. District Attorney's Office called an apparent suicide attempt.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek a death sentence against Trujillo, who lived with his wife, the girl and her five sisters at a Long Beach home that police said was not neighboring the church. Trujillo is being held without bail while awaiting his next court appearance. It's scheduled for July 10, the D.A.'s office confirmed.