Children found stabbed to death
LAPD arrests mother north of Bakersfield; grandmother discovers the 3 kids, ages 1 to 3
Three small children were found stabbed to death in Reseda on Saturday morning, and their 30-year-old mother was taken into custody hours later in Tulare County.
The children’s grandmother made the gruesome discovery about 9:30 a.m. in an apartment in the 8000 block of Reseda Boulevard.
The youngsters ranged from under 1 to 3 years old, L.A. Police Department Lt. Raul Jovel said.
Their mother, Liliana Carrillo, was identified by police as the sole suspect in the case. By the time she was identified, she had already driven near Bakersfield, where she allegedly crashed her vehicle and carjacked a Good Samaritan who had tried to help her, Delano police Cpl. Joe Madrigal
told ABC-TV in Bakersfield.
Carrillo continued northbound and was later taken into custody sometime before 2:30 p.m. in the Ponderosa area of Tulare County after authorities found her in the stolen truck, Los Angeles police said. Detectives still were working to uncover the motive behind slayings.
“Usually you go where you’re safe, so she may have had ties up there,” Jovel said.
He said detectives would be talking with her at length to “try to figure out what’s going on in her mind.”
A relative of Carrillo’s in Reseda said he could not talk when contacted by a reporter.
Lupe Cuevas, a Reseda neighbor, held back tears Saturday afternoon as she watched investigators walk in and out of the apartment gates.
Cuevas, who lives in the same complex, recalled interacting with the three children and their grandmother during afternoon walks around the neighborhood.
One of the children, a girl, was drawn to her Chihuahua, Rosie, Cuevas said.
“Those babies were such sweet little ones,” she said. “It hurts.”
Cuevas thought the girl was the middle child of the three.
“She wasn’t shy. She was sweet.” Cuevas said. “An angel shouldn’t have to go that way.”
As of 4 p.m., the bodies remained in the apartment as police awaited the coroner.
The block includes multiple apartment complexes, where workingclass families go to and from big, multi-unit complexes while cars buzz by on a busy Reseda Boulevard. Nearby is a church and a hospital.
“I’m a father. I have a son, so this brings a lot concern to me” said Ali Jan, who lives nearby. “It’s really sad for children to be involved.”
Sappira Cecena, 18, who lives a few blocks from where the stabbings occurred, said hearing of violence in the area make her feel less safe.
Recently, Cecena heard news of a stabbing near her apartment and has since been reluctant to go out alone, she said. She usually goes out with friends.
“It’s the sad reality of things,” Cecena said. “I can see and hear it every night, whether it’s helicopters or sirens.”
By evening, a small memorial began to grow outside the apartment complex.
Lexis Moreno, who lives at the Royal Villa Apartments, walked to the front of the building and crouched to place three candles in front of a bouquet of flowers. He said a short prayer. “She’s a mom to all of us,” Moreno said, pointing at a prayer candle with Mary, mother of Jesus, and then pointing to his down where an image of Mary is tattooed on his calf. “To greet us, give us a little hug, ‘cause all of us have gone through some stuff as little kids.”