A California mother has revealed that she murdered her three children to protect them from their father.
Liliana Carrillo confessed to drowning her children in a jailhouse interview with KGET 17. On Sunday, the bodies of 3-year-old Joanna, 2-year-old Terry, and 6-month-old Sierra were located near Carrillo’s mother’s apartment in Los Angeles. The woman was taken into custody later that day.
“I drowned them,” the 30-year-old revealed. “I did it as softly, I don’t know how to explain it, but I hugged them, and I kissed them, and I was apologizing the whole time. I loved my kids.” During her interview, Carrillo claims that she intended to commit suicide by driving off of a cliff.
Carrillo and the father of her children, Erik Denton, had been going back and forth in a nasty custody battle. However, in court, Denton said that he had reason to worry about his children when they were in Carrillo’s possession. In court documents, he said that his former partner was “increasingly delusional.” Denton says that she had taken the children and refused to tell him where they were. Carrillo responded to his claims by filing a restraining order against Denton, claiming that he sexually abused their oldest daughter, though those claims were not proven.
The sex abuse claims came about when the 3-year-old girl suffered an injury to her groin area during an outing at a park back in February. After complaining of pain from the wound, Carrillo began to accuse Denton of sexually assaulting the child. She sought medical attention for the toddler, though physicians found no evidence of abuse. Carrillo then blasted the doctors, claiming that the exam was not thorough. The children remained in her custody until their bodies were discovered.
Carrillo has pleaded not guilty to four felony counts of carjacking, attempted carjacking, and auto theft. The car robbery charges are in relation to Carrillo stealing the vehicle of good samaritans who stopped to help her after her car got stuck in a ditch as she tried to flee.
She has not yet been charged with the children’s death.
