Santa Cruz mother arrested on felony child abuse charges pleas not guilty; Santa Cruz DA’s office

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The Santa Cruz mother arrested on felony child abuse charges after her 18-month-old child died, plead today "not guilty and waived time for preliminary hearing," according to the Santa Cruz DA's office Thursday.

Police said they were initially responding to reports of a dead infant brought in by the mother nearly one month ago.

Police said during a follow-up investigation they found the infant died while in the care of Woll at a home along River Street.

Investigators said preliminary testing showed the infant had fentanyl and cocaine in its system.

"We're all outraged by this," said Deputy Chief John Bush with the Santa Cruz Police Department. "We hope that we can get justice for this child and find out exactly what happened."

Police clarified they're waiting for results from an autopsy to be performed by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

As of Thursday, August 8, the mother--38-year-old Korisa Woll, according to police--has been charged with murder (and an enhanced charge of domestic violence) as well as two counts of willful cruelty to a child. She has also been charged with a misdemeanor of destroying or concealing evidence, according to the Santa Cruz Courthouse.

Woll appeared in court on August 29 in front of honorable Judge Guy, with a plea of not guilty and waived time for preliminary hearing, according to the Santa Cruz DA's office.

"We still have additional witnesses and evidence and forensic exams to conduct," said Bush. "Ultimately we're committing all of our resources to this investigation to try and get justice for this child."

Bush also said it's too early to tell if they will need to file charges against someone who may have supplied the mother with drugs.