May 19, 2026 – The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) determined the cause and manner of death for 12-year-old Khimberly Alexandra Zavaletachuquipa as spontaneously ruptured cerebellar arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The manner of death is natural.
According to reports, on February 17, Ms. Zavaletachuquipa was struck in the back of the head by a thrown aluminum water bottle while at school. She was taken to the hospital with complaint of a headache and discharged the same day. Four days later, on February 21, Ms. Zavaletachuquipa was taken to the hospital in distress where the AVM was diagnosed. Despite significant medical treatment, death was pronounced at the hospital at 03:12 hours on February 25.
“Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are an assembly of fragile, tangled, high-pressure blood vessels that are prone to spontaneously rupturing, especially when located in the region of the brain as discovered in Khimberly,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo. “Catastrophic bleeding due to a rupture develops quickly - within seconds to minutes - and is immediately life-threatening. Unfortunately, as in Khimberly’s case, spontaneous rupture is a common initial presentation of an AVM."
A deputy medical examiner conducted an examination of Ms. Zavaletachuquipa on March 3 at the DME’s Forensic Science Center. The cause and manner of death were certified May 19.
The Medical Examiner report will be released at a future date. The DME case number for Ms. Zavaletachuquipa is 2026-03362.
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