ANIARAEL MACIAS - 13 yo - (Attempted murder of 3 other children) / Arrested: Mother, Connie Villa - Casa Grande, AZ

Arizona Mother Accused of Poisoning Her Children, Stabbing Ex-Husband

By BRIAN SKOLOFF,  Associated Press December 30, 2013 at 3:19 pm


This undated booking photo provided by the Casa Grande Police Department shows Connie Villa. Villa, 35, was arrested Sunday, Dec. 28, 2013 on suspicion of one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder on Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013 in Casa Grande, Ariz. Villa, from Arizona is accused of trying to poison her four children, including one who died, and of stabbing her former husband. (AP Photo/Casa Grande Police Department)

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona woman tried to fatally stab her ex-husband and poison her four children with prescription narcotic drugs, including a teenage daughter who was found dead in her home on Christmas Day, police said Monday.

She lured the man to her apartment and stabbed him repeatedly before he was able to flee and drive himself to a hospital while calling 911.

Connie Villa, 35, was arrested Sunday after being released from a hospital on suspicion of one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder in the Christmas Day attack in Casa Grande, about 50 miles south of Phoenix.

It was not immediately known whether she had an attorney. A possible motive hasn’t been disclosed, but investigators have found no history of mental illness or previous calls to the home during their initial probe. The investigation was ongoing.

According to authorities, the ex-husband, Adam Villa, called 911 after fleeing the apartment with multiple stab wounds. He remained hospitalized Monday in stable condition. Responding officers found the body of Aniarael Macias, 13, lying on a bathroom floor, said Casa Grande police Officer Thomas Anderson.

The body had no visible signs of injury or trauma, and an autopsy report was inconclusive on the cause of death, Anderson said.
Authorities are awaiting toxicology results, which could take up to a month, but they believe she was likely poisoned.
The three other children, ages 3, 5 and 8, were in good condition. Anderson said initial tests show each child had trace amounts of opiates in their systems.

Authorities would only say the drugs found in the apartment were “prescription narcotics.”

“Our investigation indicates Connie Villa forced her children to take prescription narcotic drugs in an attempt to kill them,” police said in a statement.

Upon arriving at the home Wednesday, police were forced to break in and found Connie Villa standing in the apartment with what appeared to be self-inflicted stab wounds to her torso, a knife in her hand and the three young children at her side.

The 13-year-old was found dead during a search of the home.

Connie Villa had apparently enticed her ex-husband to come by intending to kill him, too, Anderson said.

“He was lured to the apartment, under what pretense we don’t know yet, but we don’t have any indication he had any fear of going over there,” Anderson added.

The three surviving children have been placed by Child Protective Service’s with Adam Villa’s family. He was not the father of the 13-year-old, police said.

“She was a gentle, kind and beautiful spirit who was taken from us too soon,” family members of Aniarael Macias said in a statement.

In 2006, happier times seemed apparent in the Villa household as Adam Villa returned from a one-year deployment to Iraq with the Arizona Army National Guard.

When he stepped off the plane upon his return, Connie Villa broke into tears.

“Just to know he’s safe and in one piece, just to smell him,” she told The Arizona Republic at the time. “I just want to be normal again and have a family.”

http://www.ryot.org/arizona-mother-accused-poisoning-children-stabbing-ex-husband/515713

Arizona mother killed daughter, poisoned 3 other children over custody dispute: cops



Connie Villa, 35, allegedly told investigators that she fed prescription drugs to three of her children — ages 3, 5 and 8 — and suffocated her 13-year-old daughter, Aniarael Macias, when the teen refused to take the pills.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, January 1, 2014, 1:02 PM

AP
Connie Villa, 35, faces murder and attempted murder charges after she tried to kill her children and her ex-husband on Christmas day.


One day after a friend defended an Arizona mother accused of poisoning her three of children on Christmas, and suffocating another, investigators revealed the woman actually confessed to the sickening crime.

Connie Villa, 35, allegedly told police that she force-fed prescription drugs to three of her children — ages 3, 5 and 8 — and suffocated her 13-year-old daughter when she refused to take the pills, KNXV-TV reported.

The teen, Aniarael Macias, was found dead inside the family’s Casa Grande home after the crazed mother’s ex-husband, Adam Villa, 33, called 911 and said the woman stabbed him with a knife.

Villa was clutching the blade and standing near her three surviving children when police arrived. She was bleeding from numerous chest wounds.

ABC 15
Villa's daughter Aniarael Macias, 13, was found dead in the bathroom after police were called to the Casa Grande home on Christmas. Villa allegedly told police she suffocated the child.

Emergency workers brought Villa to a hospital, where she was treated for the injuries before she was arrested, authorities said.

The three children were taken to a Phoenix hospital, where doctors found “trace amounts” of narcotics in their systems, police said.
RELATED: FRIENDS SHOCKED MOM ALLEGEDLY POISONED CHILDREN


She later told investigators that she planned to kill her family to stop her ex-husband from winning custody of the children, according the local ABC affiliate.

Police said in a statement to CNN that an autopsy performed on the dead teen was inconclusive, but there was enough evidence to book her on murder and attempted murder charges.

KTVK
A day after a friend defended Villa, investigators revealed the mother confessed to trying to poison her three children and suffocating her 13-year-old daughter, who died.

The shocking confession came just a day after Villa’s longtime friend, Jan Haner, told KPHO-TV that the mother was not capable of committing such a cold-hearted killing spree.

“I never saw anything in Connie other than a loving mother, a concerned mother,” Haner told the news station. “I didn’t see any signs of outrageous behavior, stress, anger or anxiety. I did not see that.”

Court documents obtained by KNXV-TV show that Adam Villa filed for divorce a year ago, claiming the couple’s marriage was “broken.” The divorce was finalized in September, according to the report.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/arizona-mom-killed-daughter-poisoned-3-kids-custody-cops-article-1.1563445#ixzz2pfDFssZe