BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — The father of slain 8-year-old Genesis Mata will undergo a competency exam in April, as the criminal case related to her death remains on hold, according to the Kern County court records. Ray Mata, Jr. is set to return to court early next month.
He and her stepmother, Graciela Bustamonte, are accused of torturing and killing Genesis on August 2, 2025. They are charged with murder, child cruelty likely to produce great injury or death, torture, aggravated mayhem and inflicting injury to a child.
PREVIOUS REPORTING: 8-year-old girl found dead in Bakersfield hotel bathtub; two arrested
A death investigation is underway after a body was discovered inside the La Quinta Inn in central Bakersfield, according to the Bakersfield Police Department. This is a photo of the crime scene on August 2, 2025. PHOTO: KBAK/KBFX
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Genesis’s body was found blistered and burned in a La Quinta Inn motel bathtub in August 2025. According to a Bakersfield police probable cause report, Ray and stepmother Graciela Bustamonte were “working in tandem” over two days and poured scalding hot water on the child, causing severe burns that “caused ripping of the skin.” It also appeared to an officer that she had been whipped multiple times, causing her flesh under the skin to be exposed. Court documents also said Mata and Bustamonte had crushed the child’s hand, causing her fingernails to separate from her hands.
Ray was granted a competency exam on March 20, 2026, by Kern County Judge Charles Brehmer, according to court records. The trial is suspended until Mata’s competency exam is complete.
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Ray Mata, Jr. and Graciela Bustamonte will remain in custody without bail. They are due back in court on April 16.