LOS ANGELES (AP) – The mother of three children who were found dead at their Los Angeles home over the weekend was charged on Tuesday with murder.
Angela Flores, 38, is accused of killing eight-year-old Nathan Yanez, 10-year-old Kevin Yanez and 12-year-old Natalie Flores, whose bodies were discovered last Sunday morning at their home in the West Hills neighbourhood, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The cause of their deaths remained under investigation.
Police said Flores acknowledged to investigators that she killed the children and that she was helped by a teenager.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested along with Flores but the district attorney’s office didn’t announce any charges. The teen was being held in juvenile detention.
Flores reportedly had other children but authorities didn’t say whether the teenager was her son.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Flores had an attorney to speak on her behalf. She remained jailed on USD6 million bail.
“We all grieve for these children. The loss of their young lives is a tragedy that has affected our entire community,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.
Investigators haven’t released a possible motive for the killings.
Hours before they were found dead, the mother was taken to a hospital because neighbours said she had been acting strangely.
Prisila Canales, who lives near the ranch-style house where the killings happened, told reporters there was a disturbance late Saturday night in which Flores screamed and acted erratically until someone called authorities.
The children’s deaths were under investigation by the Abused Child Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Juvenile Division, the Times said.
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services said it was unable to comment on whether it had been involved with the family, the Times said.
