California Mother Arrested After Her 3 Children Found Dead Inside Home

A woman in California was arrested after her three children were found dead Sunday inside their home.

The children, aged 6,8, and 12, were found unresponsive by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives, who reached the Victory Boulevard at about 7:40 a.m. ET. The police responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call regarding an assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

The three children were pronounced dead at the scene by the Los Angeles Fire Department, according to ABC 7. LAPD Public Information Officer Matthew Cruz told the Los Angeles Times the mother of the children was arrested after the bodies were found.

The names of the suspect and the victims weren't released by the LAPD.

The abused child unit within the LAPD’s Juvenile Division was trying to ascertain the exact cause of the deaths. The police had cordoned off the Victory Boulevard area Sunday as the investigation was in progress, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Prisila Canales, a neighbor, told the Los Angeles Times she heard the mother screaming at around 10.30 p.m. ET the previous night. "My family is abusing me!" Canales said she heard the woman screaming. The neighbor said after the screams were heard, the woman walked to the next-door neighbor's yard, opened a Bible and lit candles. Authorities were alerted about the behavior, and paramedics arrived at midnight and put the woman on a stretcher. Canales said the woman tried to wrangle herself free and shouted: "Where’s my Bible?"

"The screaming you heard; you knew she was not OK," Canales said. "I can still hear her screaming."

The following morning, Canales said learned from another neighbor that the woman hadn't returned home and the children were dead, according to the Los Angeles Daily news.

Another neighbor, Jhon, said he heard muffled cries from a child on Saturday night. "I thought I was just dreaming," the man told the Los Angeles Times. No further details about the incident were released.

Neighbors told the Los Angeles Daily News the family had moved in about two to three months ago, and mostly kept to themselves.