Mother of 3 children found dead in East LA charged with murder

A woman was charged Wednesday with killing her three young children in East Los Angeles.

Sandra Chico, 28, is set to be arraigned Wednesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on three counts each of murder and assault on a child causing death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence in the 600 block of Ferris Avenue at about 12:45 p.m. Monday after receiving a report that two children at the home were not breathing, according to Lt. Charles Calderaro. Deputies found two boys and a girl in the home and none of the children was breathing, he said.

Paramedics were called, but all three children were pronounced dead at the scene.

They were identified Tuesday by the coroner’s office as Mia Camila Rodriguez, 4; Mason Mateo Rodriguez, 3; and Milan Mateas Rodriguez, who was born on May 5. Autopsies were pending to determine how they died.

Calderaro said it was too early in the investigation to speculate on a motive for the children’s deaths.

Preliminary information revealed no prior reports of abuse or child neglect to the home or the mother, according to Deputy Eric Ortiz of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Chico was initially identified as a “person of interest” and detained. She was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder, with bail set at $2 million.

In a written statement announcing the charges, District Attorney George Gascon said, “In an instant, three innocent children were taken from us and we are crestfallen. Nothing is more heartbreaking than the tragic betrayal of a parent failing to protect their children.”

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