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

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.

Tuesday morning the yellow police tape was gone and the church doors were back open. A slightly larger-than-usual crowd attended the 9 a.m. Mass and during the day people stopped in to the quiet sanctuary to pray or see the baptismal pool. Some left flowers at a shrine outside as residents and parishioners grappled with news of the shocking death. Several took in the tragedy through tears.

Margarito and Alejandro Ceja, a father and son, came to the church Tuesday to pay their respects. Alejandro Ceja, 47, said he'd worked with Ordaz picking grapes for two days during this fall's harvest and called the man a hard worker.

“How? How?” asked Ceja, trying to understand the child's death.

Parishioners Delia Cisneros and her husband Steven Mascherini came to the church Tuesday afternoon to drop off paperwork for their 8-month-old daughter's baptism planned for Sunday. The Cloverdale-area couple were still trying to comprehend that the violent death had happened in their religious sanctuary.

“It shakes your faith,” said Mascherini, who has three daughters.

“Religion, to me, it's everything,” Cisneros said. “I'm not afraid to be in my church, but it is sad to know people can do harm here.”

Investigators, with the help of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday morning completed a search of the family home just outside Healdsburg city limits. Jenkins said nothing significant was found.

Jenkins declined to comment on the man's possible mental state or whether officers believed he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Investigators took a blood sample from Ordaz for testing, which is standard procedure in such cases.

“We aren't going to talk about mental state. We'll leave that to the courts,” Jenkins said.

In addition to the murder charge, Ordaz also faces counts of felony and misdemeanor child abuse stemming from his daughter's death and harm to her brother, who was the only witness to the drowning, according to Healdsburg police.

During the court hearing, an emotional Ordaz cried and spoke loudly in Spanish through an interpreter to his lawyer from the Public Defender's Office. Prosecutor Jason Riehl would not discuss any suspected motive or release other details of the case.

Family members, including a woman who said she was the girl's aunt, declined to comment as they left the courthouse

Ordaz has no current criminal history, according to Sonoma County courthouse records. About 20 years ago he was convicted of a felony burglary charge and sentenced to two years in prison, records showed. He also had a previous conviction for a misdemeanor case involving fighting in public.

Healdsburg police still are trying to piece together the 24 hours before the death, and most specifically what Ordaz and his two young children were doing in the hours before they went to the open church.

“He was on foot with the kids, walking through town,” Jenkins said. “We think they got into town just before 6. We're trying to piece together a timeline.”

It remained unclear Tuesday how long they were in the church.

Investigators believe the three left home and walked along Dry Creek Road near Highway 101 and then down Healdsburg Avenue toward downtown.

Jenkins asked anyone with information or who thinks they saw the trio to contact officers at 707-431-3377.

Staff writer Paul Payne contributed to this report. Reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rossmannreport. Reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@jjpressdem.