EL MONTE : Woman Held in Beating Death of Robbery Victim, 85

Authorities arrested a 37-year-old woman Wednesday in the beating death of an 85-year-old El Monte woman during a robbery at her home a day earlier.

The name of the suspect was not released, but the woman had in her possession some of the property taken during the robbery, said Sgt. Ron Spear of the Sheriff’s Department. A male suspect remained at large.

The victim, Bertha Kavanaugh, was found dead in the bathroom of her home in the 10000 block of Giovane Street about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, said Diane Hecht, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

The dead woman’s 65-year-old daughter, Marilyn Kavanaugh, was assaulted during the robbery. She was treated for facial cuts and bruises at Greater El Monte Hospital and released Tuesday night.

The suspects, who escaped with an unknown amount of cash, apparently knocked on the front door of the Kavanaugh home offering to sell fruit, investigators said. They then demanded money from the women and beat them when they said they had none, deputies said.