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Mother Taken Into Custody After 3 Toddlers Found Stabbed to Death in L.A.

Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department

Three toddlers were found stabbed to death on Saturday morning in a Reseda, Los Angeles, apartment, and their mother, Liliana Carrillo, was taken into custody following a police manhunt. She is considered the “sole suspect” in the case, according to Los Angeles Police.

The victims, whose names were not disclosed, were 3, 2, and six months old. Their grandmother found their bodies after she returned from work around 9:30 a.m.

Police said Carrillo, 30, may have stolen a pickup truck in Bakersfield, California hours after the stabbing. She was taken into custody near Ponderosa in Tulare County and displayed “erratic behavior,” according to police. Investigators have yet to identify a motive.

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“Obviously, they’ll be talking with this lady at length to try to figure out what’s going on in her mind,” Lt. Raul Jovel told The Los Angeles Times, “These are the moments we carry throughout our career. It’s hard to process that as a police officer.”

Elizabeth Cuevas, who lives in the apartment above where the bodies were discovered, told the Times she never saw police respond to calls from the unit. She said she often heard the sounds of cartoons emanating from the apartment, often late into the night.

“Somebody snapped there, and they snapped in the wrong direction,” she said.

One of the children would often ask to pet Cuevas’ dog. She believes the trio was made up of two boys and one girl, the boys being the eldest and youngest.

“She was a perfect little angel. She was precious beyond what you could imagine,” Cuevas said to the Times. “An angel shouldn’t have to go that way.”

Dayna Campbell, a resident of Carrillo’s neighborhood, told NBC, “My heart is broken. Every time I see news about children like this, my heart breaks in pieces. And now, it's like right in front of my building—it’s unbelievable.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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