{"id":108146,"date":"2025-12-24T21:43:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T21:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/108146\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T21:43:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T21:43:12","slug":"genesis-matas-mother-files-wrongful-death-injury-claims-against-kern-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/108146\/","title":{"rendered":"Genesis Mata\u2019s mother files wrongful death, injury claims against Kern County"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 The biological mother of Genesis Mata has filed claims alleging Child Protective Services failed to protect her daughter after receiving numerous reports of abuse before the 8-year-old was found dead in a motel bathtub.<\/p>\n

The claims, precursors to lawsuits, were filed against Kern County in December by an attorney representing Destiny De La Cruz.<\/p>\n

They say CPS and other agencies failed to protect Genesis and her brother, who also allegedly suffered abuse. The county has 45 days from the date it received the claims to respond.<\/p>\n

Genesis\u2019 father and stepmother, Ray Mata Jr. and Graciela Bustamonte, were arrested and charged with torture and murder after her body was discovered Aug. 2 at La Quinta Inn near Buck Owens Boulevard.<\/p>\n

The claims say CPS had opened investigations into Ray Mata Jr. but \u201clost track of his whereabouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were 20 child abuse reports prior to the death of Genesis Mata,\u201d according to the claims. \u201cSpecifically, (about) Genesis\u2019 brother, who school authorities reported as battered and bruised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigators determined Genesis was burned with boiling water and whipped with a cable or cord, according to police reports. Both Ray Mata and Bustamonte admitted to abusing her, the reports say.<\/p>\n

The couple is eligible for the death penalty. A trial date is scheduled in late March.<\/p>\n

As reported by 17 News\u2019 Connor Dore,<\/a> De La Cruz has multiple criminal convictions \u2014 and also faced allegations of child abuse. Reports say she admitted to years of methamphetamine use.<\/p>\n

In\u00a02023, De La Cruz and a boyfriend were charged with torture and mayhem in connection to injuries suffered by her then-1-year-old son. The boyfriend was accused of causing injuries and De La Cruz of never seeking medical aid or contacting authorities.<\/p>\n

She pleaded no contest to child cruelty and was sentenced to time served and four years of probation.<\/p>\n

The boyfriend also pleaded no contest to child cruelty. He received a five-year prison term.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 The biological mother of Genesis Mata has filed claims alleging Child Protective Services failed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152,58206,8261,7664,58201,58203,58205,58204,58202],"class_list":{"0":"post-108146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakersfield","8":"tag-bakersfield","9":"tag-bakersfield-headlines","10":"tag-bakersfield-news","11":"tag-child-abuse-reports","12":"tag-child-cruelty","13":"tag-de-la-cruz","14":"tag-genesis-mata","15":"tag-graciela-bustamonte","16":"tag-la-quinta-inn","17":"tag-ray-mata","18":"tag-ray-mata-jr"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}