California mom, 30, accused of stabbing her three children to death appears in court to plead not guilty to carjacking a truck during her attempted escape
The California mom suspected of killing her three children in Reseda on Saturday pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of carjacking a truck on the day of their murders.
Liliana Carrillo, 30, appeared in a Kern County Superior Court wearing a blue jail uniform with a cast on her left arm for a hearing that lasted less than a minute, KFSN-TV reported.
She entered the pleas to four charges: two of taking a vehicle without the owner's consent, one of carjacking, and one of attempted carjacking. Her bail was set at $2 million and she is scheduled to appear in court again there on May 7.
Carrillo's three children were found dead on Saturday by their maternal grandmother in her apartment in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles. She was arrested later that day in Tulare County, nearly 200 miles north of the scene.
Liliana Carrillo, 30, appeared in a Kern County Superior Court wearing a blue jail uniform with a cast on her left arm for a hearing that lasted less than a minute
She entered the pleas to four charges: two of taking a vehicle without the owner's consent, one of carjacking, and one of attempted carjacking
Kern County prosecutors alleged that Carrillo crashed her car on Highway 65 near Bakersfield then carjacked a truck from someone who stopped to help her.
'Rather than accepting that help, the allegations are that she took their cars,' Kern County Assistant District Attorney Joseph Kinzel said, according to KFSN-TV.
She entered the pleas to four charges: two of taking a vehicle without the owner's consent, one of carjacking, and one of attempted carjacking. She is pictured in an undated file photo before her arrest
She then tried to steal another truck before she was arrested Saturday afternoon in the San Joaquin County community of Ponderosa near Porterville, where Carrillo and her family lived until February 25, according to court records.
Officials said Carrillo is suspected of killing Joanna Denton Carrillo, 3; Terry Carrillo, 2; and 6-month-old Sierra.
Carrillo hasn't been criminally charged in their deaths pending an ongoing investigation. Autopsies are pending to determine the cause of the children's deaths.
The Los Angeles Police Department told KABC-TV that its detectives are investigating the alleged murder case and will seek extradition to Los Angeles County.
'The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the potential homicide case down in Los Angeles,' Kinzel said.
'That investigation is not complete. While we do liaison with the Los Angeles Police Department to make sure we understand what's going on because it does have an interplay into the charges here.'
He added: 'We don't have a complete investigation at this point, so I'm not going to speak for them.'
Police haven't disclosed a motive for the killings. But court filings showed there was a bitter custody dispute between Carrillo and the children's father, Erik Denton, her ex-boyfriend.
Erik Denton, left, is pictured with two of his three children who were allegedly killed by their mother Liliana Carrillo (top) in Reseda
Erik Denton, left, is pictured with his three children who were allegedly stabbed to death in their apartment by their mother Liliana Carrillo, right, in Reseda, Los Angeles on April 10
Police haven't disclosed a motive for the killings. But court filings showed there was a bitter custody dispute between Carrillo, pictured, and the children's father
The California mom suspected of killing her three children in Reseda on Saturday pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of carjacking a truck on the day of their murders
The children had been staying with Carrillo but Denton petitioned a court for custody March 1 fearing for the safety of the children.
He alleged that Carrillo was delusional and had taken the kids and refused to tell him where they were. Carrillo, in turn, filed a restraining order against him and claimed Denton was an alcoholic who may have sexually abused their eldest child.
Denton´s court filings claim that Carrillo suffered post-partum depression following the birth of their middle child and that she had started therapy but quit.
Instead, Carrillo allegedly self-medicated with marijuana, he claimed. In texts and social media posts, she had allegedly said things like 'I wish I never had kids' and threatened to kill herself.
A passerby looks at a memorial outside the apartment where three young children were killed Saturday morning in Los Angeles
A passerby looks at a memorial outside the apartment where three young children were killed Saturday morning in San Fernando on Tuesday
Lupe Cuevas pays her respects at a memorial outside the apartment where three young children were killed Saturday morning in San Fernando on Tuesday
Carrillo also allegedly believed she was 'solely responsible' for the coronavirus pandemic, Denton wrote, and she thought that Porterville was home to a 'giant sex trafficking ring.'
She sought a temporary restraining order in Los Angeles County. Through the courts, Denton and Carrillo agreed to swap Denton's days to see the children - a few hours every other Sunday.
Last Sunday was supposed to be just his second visit with the kids under the new schedule.
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