Three kids were found dead in a Los Angeles home Sunday morning after their mom wandered into the neighbor’s yard, opened a Bible and lit candles the night before.
She was later arrested, police said, but has not yet been charged.
Authorities got a 911 call about an incident in the Woodland Hills neighborhood at about 7:40 a.m. They responded to reports of assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Three children aged eight to 12 years old were found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.
The night before, the mom was heard screaming, ‘My family is abusing me!’ She then walked into her next-door neighbor’s yard for a solo religious ceremony, according to a different neighbor who saw her.
Paramedics got there at around midnight and put her on a stretcher. The neighbor said she tried to free herself and screamed, ‘Wheres my Bible?’
It remains unclear what happened between the mother’s outburst and the children being found the next day.
The mother was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation and was later taken into custody by the LAPD. There are no other suspects in the children’s deaths, police say.
The abused child unit in the LAPD’s Juvenile Division is investigating the cause and manner of the children’s deaths, according to the LA Times.
The incident happened in the 22500 block of Victory Boulevard in Woodland Hills, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
On Sunday, police were seen going in and out of the one-story ranch style house.
‘No other suspects are being sought at the moment,’ said LAPD Public Information Officer Matthew Cruz.
The mother had her own run-in with paramedics the night before her three children were found dead in the home.
Neighbor Prisila Canales heard her screaming at around 10.30pm, ‘My family is abusing me!’
She then saw her walk to her next-door neighbor’s yard to open a Bible and light candles.
The police were called and paramedics arrived at midnight. She was put on a stretcher and asked for her Bible as she tried to shake herself free.
‘The screaming you heard; you knew she was not OK,’ Canales said. ‘I can still hear her screaming.’
Neighbor Stephen Hayes, 71, said he saw the family riding bikes.
‘They look like nice, normal people. It is one of the nicest looking houses in the block,’ he said.
A neighbor who live a block away said he heard muffled cries from a child Saturday night.
‘I thought I was just dreaming,’ he said. ‘I thought West Hills was supposed to be safe. Nothing is safe nowadays.’