(L.A.) Khimberly Zavaleta, 12, Died in a Hospital

Case Number: 2026-03362

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 12-year-old Hispanic female that occurred at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.

The coroner’s office identified the girl as Khimberly Zavaleta.

Manner of Death: Natural

Cause of Death: Spontaneously Ruptured Cerebellar Arteriovenous Malformation

RIP KHIMBERLY ZAVALETA CHUQUIPA (September 14, 2013 – February 25, 2026)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Wednesday.

The decedent was a student who was hit on the head with an aluminum water bottle during a fight at Reseda Charter High School on February 17. It had been assumed that she therefrom sustained a brain injury.

Ruling by the Department of Medical Examiner that this a natural death instead of a homicide or accident was disclosed on May 19. The pathologist who examined the body was Dr. Sarah Edminster.

Representatives of her family have already raised over 140,000 dollars on GoFundMe.

The government investigator had initially given the decedent’s name as Khimberly Zavaletachuquipa. Chuquipa is a distinctly Peruvian surname.