Mom Accused Of Slaying 3 Kids Was In The Middle Of An Ugly Custody Battle

A Los Angeles mother who has been accused of murdering her three kids, including an infant, was reportedly involved in a tense custody dispute with the children's father, court documents reveal.

Liliana Carrillo, 30, was arrested Saturday on charges of slaying her three children, aged 3, 2 and 6 months, after the children’s grandmother found them dead at their apartment complex in Reseda. Though the initial reports revealed that the children died of stab wounds, the officials have not yet confirmed the exact cause of the children’s deaths, Los Angeles Times reported.

Carrillo who reportedly fled after the incident was arrested from Tulare county after a long-distance chase with the law enforcement officials.

The court documents revealed that Erik Denton, the children’s biological father had filed a custody request in court on March 1. He had also requested a mental health evaluation of Carrillo along with a temporary emergency visitation order from a family court. Orders were drawn up at a hearing on March 26 and another hearing was scheduled for April 14.

In response to this case, Carrillo had sought a temporary domestic violence order against Denton on March 12, court documents show, ABC News reported.

Denton confirmed to the outlet that he had started the custody battle with Carrillo after she reportedly became mentally unstable. He said that he received the tragic news regarding the children’s death on Saturday, just a day before Carrillo was supposed to turn over the kids to him.

Denton claimed that the local authorities failed to intervene in the dispute. “In L.A. they wouldn’t help. The LAPD would not get involved,” Denton told the outlet.

The law enforcement officials initially got reports that Carrillo was driving her car and heading north on Interstate 5 after she left her home Saturday. She then reportedly abandoned her vehicle and hijacked another vehicle before she was detained by the officials.

“These are the moments we carry throughout our career,” Raul Joel, Los Angeles police officer who responded to the crime scene said as he lamented the deaths of 3 innocent lives. “It’s hard to process that as a police officer,” Joel added.

One of the neighbors said she was shocked to hear the news as the three children appeared well-loved and there were no previous reports of domestic dispute from the house. “She was a perfect little angel,” the neighbor described the 3-year-old girl who died. “She was precious beyond what you could imagine,” she added.