by Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com

The Claremont Police Department is investigating an apparent murder-suicide after discovering two bodies in an apartment Tuesday evening.

At about 7 p.m., police officers responded to the 1400 block of Morton Circle in Claremont for a welfare check on a mother and her child because the pair had not been seen or heard from for the past few days.

At the apartment officers attempted to contact the residents by knocking on the front door, but there was no answer. Based on the circumstances, officers entered the apartment to check on the their welfare.

Once inside officers located a 33-year-old female and an 18-month-old child, both unresponsive. L.A. County Fire responded and pronounced both the mother and child deceased. Based on the preliminary investigation, police say it appears that the mother killed the child and then committed suicide. The weapon used during the incident was a knife and it was recovered at the scene. There were no signs of forced entry into the apartment and there does not appear to be any outstanding suspects related to the incident.

The Claremont Police Department’s detective bureau and L.A. County Coroner’s Office responded to conduct their investigations and collect evidence related to the incident. The victim’s family were notified by the coroner.

If anyone has any additional information related to the incident, please call the Claremont Police Department detective bureau at 909-399-5420.