Sandra Chico East Los Angeles, California mother arrested on suspicion of murder after her three children are found dead at family home. No known motive.
A 28-year-old mother has been arrested for murder after her three young children, all under the age of three, were found dead inside a Los Angeles family home.
Sandra Chico was being held Tuesday on suspicion of murder after the children, two boys and a girl, were found dead in a bedroom in their East Los Angeles home a day earlier.
The children were identified as Mia Camila Rodriguez, 4, Mason Mateo Rodriguez, 3, and two-month-old Milan Mateas Rodriguez.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt Chuck Calderaro said the children were not breathing and efforts to revive them were not successful after a family member called 911 at about 12.45pm on Monday.
Upon discovery of the bodies, Chico was detained and questioned as a ‘person of interest’. Authorities would not comment on the mother’s mental state.
No obvious signs of trauma in deaths of three children
Chico who made her first court appearance on Wednesday was being held on $2 million bond.
The children’s father was not at home at the time.
Calderaro said it was not immediately clear what caused the deaths and autopsies will be conducted.
There were ‘no obvious signs’ trauma, he said.
‘At this point it’s very preliminary in the investigation,’ Calderaro said. ‘We know the children were in a bedroom within the house. As far as cause of death that’s unknown at this time and that’s under investigation.’
The family had gathered at the home on Sunday for a celebration.
The children’s uncle Arturo Cerezo, who arrived at the home as the mother was being taken into custody, told CBSLA: ‘It’s pretty hard to determine what really happened.’
‘She would do anything for her kids…’
‘I mean, because, I know her,’ he said of the mother.
‘I know she would do anything for those kids, and that’s what’s so hard to understand what happened.’
Preliminary information revealed no prior reports of child abuse or neglect at the home, the sheriff’s department said.
Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose district includes East Los Angeles, said she was ‘devastated’ to hear about the deaths.
‘It is a horrifying situation and my office is working with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Department of Children and Family Services to launch a full investigation into the brutal murder of these three innocent children,’ Solis said in a statement.
‘My office is also leveraging County resources to provide counseling and support for the family and neighboring residents.
No known motive
‘Support services are also being extended to the firefighters and first responders who were the first ones on-site and witnessed this travesty.
‘Although I wish this never occurred, we must do everything possible to ensure no other child endures such a tragedy.’
No immediate known motive for the murders were known.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover the cost of a funeral service for the children.
The deaths come after a Reseda, California mother was arrested in the murder of her three children in April in Los Angeles in April. At the time of the the childrens’ slaughter, the estranged father accused the mother of exhibiting severe mental illness.
