Healdsburg man arraigned in court on murder for drowning of young daughter

Alliance Medical Center has set up a GoFundMe account on behalf of the family to help with funeral expenses. To donate, go here . The Chavarria family has also set up a GoFundMe account. To donate, go here . Donations to both accounts will go to the family.

The cross‑shaped baptismal pool at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church has been drained of water and inside on Tuesday were nine bouquets of flowers with flickering candles nearby — a memorial for the 4‑year‑old Healdsburg girl who drowned there, allegedly at the hands of her father who held her below the pool’s surface.

The father, Gerardo Ordaz, appeared in Sonoma County court Tuesday afternoon and was formally charged with murder and felony child abuse involving the death at the downtown church.

Judge Arthur Wick also ordered a psychologist to evaluate the mental state of Ordaz, 42, after his lawyer raised doubts about the man’s competency. Ordaz will return to Wick’s court on Monday for a hearing on the evaluation and to allow the judge to decide if the man is able to face further court proceedings.

Meanwhile, police Tuesday released the girl’s name — Maria Jose Ordaz‑Chavarria — and sought help from the public in retracing the steps of Ordaz, his daughter and 9‑year‑old son in the hours before they went to the church at Matheson and East streets.

Healdsburg police still aren’t sharing any insight into a possible motive for the bizarre death, or explanation for why Ordaz was naked when he arrived at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the police station, holding his lifeless daughter.

Police have said the man had carried the girl from the church, accompanied by his son, who was wearing only shorts. They crossed the street and headed into the back parking lot of the police station where the man yelled for help.

The girl, who was soaking wet, couldn’t be revived.

Healdsburg police have said Ordaz gave police a detailed statement but Lt. Matt Jenkins on Tuesday would not say what the man divulged indicating any motive. “We don’t really know what that is yet,” Jenkins said. “We’re exploring every option.”

Results of Monday’s autopsy on the little girl also haven’t been released. Jenkins said a final report hasn’t been completed.

Some details did emerge Tuesday of a financially struggling family, including a farmworker father who took work where he could and an unemployed, pregnant mother and her three children now staying with extended family in the area.

The Ordaz family, including Maria, her father, mother Maria Guadalupe Chavarria, and siblings 9, 12 and 14, moved to Healdsburg about six months ago from Sacramento, said Monica Castillo, 24, a cousin of the victim.

Castillo described Maria as a sweet, smiley girl who loved princesses. “Her little sweet smile…she was very quiet and always very happy.”

She said the family is in need of financial aid. Two GoFundMe accounts have been set up to help Chavarria and the other children, who remain in her custody.

“She is not working so imagine those circumstances,” said Castillo, who described her aunt as holding up by necessity. “(She’s) being really tough for the kids. She has another one on the way.”

After an all‑night investigation, officers Monday morning arrested Ordaz, whom they described as a day laborer. He remains in the Sonoma County Jail without bail.

On Monday the front of the large church was blocked off by yellow police tape, marking the site as a suspected murder scene. A police search Monday night of the sanctuary turned up clothing for the man and his partially clothed son, Jenkins said. The clothing was found near the baptismal pool.