The three women arrested Monday in connection with the October death of an infant at a San Rafael childcare facility are being accused of trying to cover up the circumstances of the death, according to Department of Social Services investigators.

The fatal incident took place on the afternoon of Oct. 23, San Rafael police received a 911 call reporting that an infant at Magic Place Children's Center was not breathing.

Paramedics responded to the childcare center, located at 1055 Las Ovejas Ave. in San Rafael and transported the 4-month-old baby boy to Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased.

On Monday, the Marin County coroner's office determined that the infant's death was caused when bedding obstructed his breathing, causing asphyxia due to suffocation. The death was ruled accidental and the three caregivers were arrested for involuntary manslaughter, police said.

The owner of Magic Place Children's Center and two employees were taken into custody Monday evening after the childcare center closed for the day, police said.

The owner of the childcare facility, Claudia Gil, 44, and employees Sandra Del Socoro Alvarado Mendez, 49, and Lorena Huitron Jiminez, 28, all Richmond residents, were booked at Marin County Jail with bail set at $75,000.

The Department of Social Services is working to close the facility permanently.

Investigators from Social Services determined that the workers found the boy was not breathing at 3 p.m. but instead of calling 911, they called the facility owner, who later lied about the call to investigators.

State investigators determined the women didn't call 911 for about a half hour. Paramedics arrived shortly after 3:30 p.m. and took the boy to the hospital, but were unable to revive him.

While the coroner determined the cause of death to be an accident, police said the level of negligence was criminal.

The women are due in court at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning to be formally charged.