SYLMAR : Woman Arrested in Fire That Killed Baby Boy

Police arrested a Sylmar woman in the death of a 6-month-old boy who was killed Wednesday when a cottage in which he had been left alone erupted in flames, fire officials said.

An off-duty city firefighter and a neighbor tried in vain to rescue the baby, Richard Robles, from the 9:48 a.m. blaze in the 13500 block of Borden Avenue, said Mike Little, a city Fire Department spokesman. The men were unable to get into the two-room dwelling, which had barred windows that opened from the inside.

The cottage is in the back yard of another house, owned by Raquel Lopez, 46. She was taken into custody for questioning and later arrested on suspicion of murder, Los Angeles Police Officer Art Holmes said. A motive for the killing and details of the events leading to the fire were not released.

Little said that the child had been in the care of a baby-sitter when the blaze began but the sitter apparently was not in the cottage. Two other children escaped unhurt.