Woman accused of drowning 7-year-old daughter was distraught over immigration status, fiancé claims

A woman who allegedly killed her 7-year-old daughter had been severely distraught over her immigration status, says the woman's fiancé.

Thirty-seven-year-old Graciela Castellanos is the primary suspect in the drowning death of her daughter in a Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles on Friday. Castellanos' fiancé told KABC-TV that she had been a good mother but that she had episodes of mental illness.

They overhead a girl yelling, 'Mommy, please no. Mommy, please no,' on the day of the incident.

The grieving man didn't want to be identified and spoke in Spanish to KABC reporter Leo Stallworth.

"First, I want to say that my wife was an almost perfect mom. She never told a bad word, yelled at the girl, didn't hit her," he said, as translated to English. "She was the sweetest mom in the world."

The man said he arrived at the apartment at about 7 p.m. after police had already arrived.

First responders had found the child's body in a bathtub and pronounced her dead soon afterward.

Castellanos' fiancé said that she had suffered episodes that caused her to scream and isolate herself until they passed, but he claimed she had never been violent. He said that they were planning on getting married in about two months, and he was going to adopt the woman's daughter.

The Los Angeles Police Department released few details about the case as the investigation is ongoing.

The fiancé also said that Castellanos had fallen into deep depression after finding out that she may not become a legal resident.

Castellanos was arrested and booked into jail on bail of $2 million.

A resident of the Van Nuys neighborhood told KABC that they overhead a girl yelling, "Mommy, please no. Mommy, please no," on the day of the incident.

Images of the victim and the interview with the fiancé can be viewed on the news video report from KABC-TV on YouTube.

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