LOS ANGELES — A man was sentenced to 37 years to life in state prison for fatally stabbing a 3-year-old girl at a clothing factory in downtown Los Angeles three years ago.

Last month, Ricardo Augusto Utuy aka Juan Perez was found guilty of one count each of first-degree murder and attempted murder.

On March 10, 2016, Utuy attacked a woman at a factory in downtown Los Angeles. The defendant stabbed the woman before fleeing the scene, according to witness testimony. The victim survived the attack.

Utuy found work at another factory, in the 800 block of McGarry Street, the prosecutor said. A couple who worked at that factory brought their 3-year-old daughter, Ruby V., to work with them on Oct. 31, 2016.

When the girl went to give her father a cookie, the mother saw Utuy running toward the child. The defendant then stabbed the girl multiple times with a knife. She was taken to a hospital where she died.

Prosecutors say their was no motive. After the crime, LAPD Detective Moses Castillo called it “a really bizarre, unprovoked incident that we cannot wrap our minds around.”

A detective said he “pretty much said that he had voices coming to him and daring him to kill Ruby.” He also saaid the suspect mentioned a Ouija board.

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