SOPHIA, YASMINE AND XENIA CORANADO - 2½ yo, 16 months and 2 months (2014)/ Suspect: Mother; Carol Coronado - Torrance CA

Mother arrested after her 3 small girls found slain in home

By NICOLE SANTA CRUZ, RICHARD WINTON, ROBERT J. LOPEZ
May 20, 2014, 10:26 PM

A 30-year-old mother was arrested on suspicion of murder after her three small children were found dead in the family's Torrance-area home, authorities said Tuesday night.

Deputies responded to the home in 1000 block of West 223rd Street in an unicorporated neighborhood near Torrance around 5: 20 p.m, the Sheriff's Department said.

"They were met by family members who told the deputies that a mother had killed her children,” department officials said in a statement Tuesday night.

The victims were girls who ranged in age from 2 months old to 3 years old, authorities said. They were found in the same room of the small home.

Late Tuesday, detectives at the scene were trying to piece together what happened, including how the girls were slain.

“There was a lot of blood,” Lt. Dave Coleman said. “It was a pretty substantial scene inside the residence.”

He said investigators recovered several knives but added that there “could be multiple causes of death.”

Department officials identified the mother as Carol Coronado and said that she was being taken to Carson Station, where she would be booked on suspicion of murder.

The father and the grandmother were at the home when deputies arrived, Coleman said. The grandmother called 911.

The father was being questioned late Tuesday at the Carson Station.

As detectives gathered evidence, Monica Morales stood near yellow tape crime tape and watched the scene unfold. She has lived in the neighborhood all her life and attended an elementary school across the street.

“We always drive right by that house,” said Morales, 24, adding that she was shocked to hear about the slayings.

“It's not that kind of neighborhood,” she said

Since January 2007, at least 24 homicides have been reported within a mile of Tuesday's crime scene, according to The Times Homicide Report database.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mother-arrested-3-small-girls-found-slain-20140520-story.html

Carol Coronado Arrested After 3 Young Daughters Found Stabbed To Death

The Huffington Post, by  Ed Mazza
Posted: 05/21/2014 1:46 am EDT
Updated: 2 hours ago

Three little girls were stabbed to death in their home near Torrance, California, on Tuesday, according to multiple reports in the local media.

The children, ages 3, 2 and 2 months old, were found lying in a pool of blood on a bed alongside their mother, police told KTLA.

Carol Coronado, 30, was naked, covered in blood and holding a knife, the station reported. Police took her to an area hospital and then to the Carson Sheriff’s Station.

The children were all pronounced dead at the scene.

South Bay Crime has collected several images of the children taken from what it believes to be Coronado's Facebook page, including a sonogram, presumably of one of the victims.

Coronado had called her mother earlier in the day and said she was going crazy, neighbor Ashley Madrid told the Daily Breeze. When Coronado's mother arrived at the home, she found her grandchildren's bodies and called police.

The girls' father was working on his car across the street at the time of the slayings, the website reported.

“I saw when they were bringing him out,” Madrid was quoted as saying. “He was crying. He was crying, ‘She killed my daughters!’”

Madrid also watched as police brought Coronado out of the home.

“She was full of blood on her face and arms,” Madrid said.

Coronado is expected to be charged with murder, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said in a press release. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact (323) 890-5500.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/21/carol-coronado-arrested-daughters-slain_n_5362660.html

California mom found naked in bed with 3 dead daughters: sheriff

Carol Coronado, 30, was arrested on suspicion of murder after sheriff’s deputies discovered her holding a knife and the girls' bodies covered in blood Tuesday. Family members reportedly said that a mother had killed her children.

BY Meg Wagner
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, May 21, 2014, 7:02 AM





Facebook California police arrested 30-year-old Carol Coronado after her three young daughters were found dead in their home.

Three little girls were found murdered in their California home Tuesday, and their mother, who was found holding a knife while lying in bed with them, has been arrested, authorities said.

Just after 5 p.m., police found three sisters — 3 years old, 2 years old and 2 months old — in bed, covered in blood at their Torrance home, sheriff’s deputies told Southern California's KTLA.

They arrested Carol Coronado, the girls' mother, on suspicion of murder.

Facebook Coronado’s three girls were between the ages of 3 years and 2 months.

Coronado, 30, was naked and holding a knife, police said.

Family members told deputies that a mother had killed her children, the Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Steve McCrank,The Daily Breeze/AP The girls' dad and grandmother were at home when police arrived. 

The children's father and grandmother were at home at the time of the arrest. Police are also questioning the dad, the Los Angeles times reported.

While investigators found several knives in the home, a cause of death has not yet been released.

3 Children Found Dead Near Carson, Mother In Custody
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said three girls, approximately aged 3 years, 2 years and 2 months, were found dead in the 1000...




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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/3-girls-found-dead-calif-home-mom-arrested-cops-article-1.1800154#ixzz32MmyQ1f7

Threads merged.

Detectives: Carol Corando laid children’s bodies out neatly on bed after stabbing them

By Larry Altman, Daily Breeze
POSTED: 05/22/14, 12:43 PM PDT
UPDATED: 57 MINS AGO

A mother who allegedly stabbed her three daughters to death at her home near Carson laid them “neatly” on a bed after they died, a detective said today.

The three girls — identified by friends as Sophia, 2½, Yasmine, 16 months and Xenia, 2 months — were likely awake when they were stabbed, sheriff’s Lt. Dave Coleman said.

“The way the injuries occurred, they weren’t sleeping,” Coleman said. “She lined them up on the bed. They were neatly placed on the bed.”

Placement of the girls’ bodies occurred after they were killed.

Autopsies were scheduled this morning on the three girls, but results have not been released. Coleman said Wednesday that the children suffered stab wounds, but the autopsies would determine if they suffered any other injuries.

The mother, Carol Coronado, 30, remained at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, where she received treatment for self-inflicted stab wounds. She suffered wounds over her body, but most were considered scratches. Her most significant wound was to the upper chest, but it was not severe enough to be considered life-threatening, detectives said.

She possibly could be released this afternoon, then will be arrested and booked into jail or the County-USC Medical Center jail ward, Coleman said.

Investigators still do not know why Coronado allegedly stabbed the children with a kitchen knife shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday at their tiny home in the 1000 block of West 223rd Street, an unincorporated area between Carson and Harbor Gateway.

Her husband, Rudy Coronado, was working on his recently purchased 1968 Chevrolet pickup truck parked across the street at the time. The husband was not aware what happened until his mother-in-law arrived at the house and he told her to go on inside. He followed her when he heard her screams.

Neighbors said the mother told her she had called her earlier to say she was going crazy.

The neighbors said they never saw any signs of trouble that would suggest Carol Coronado was capable of harming her children.

The website Mail Online quoted Rudy Coronado today as saying, “I don’t know why the hell this happened.”

“She killed my babies man, she killed my babies,” he said. “It was like a demon possessed. She was a girl with a good career ahead of her, I just don’t know why it happened. If I knew why it happened, it would answer all my questions.”

Coronado attended a vigil outside the home Wednesday night, dropping to his knees, bending over and crying before a memorial of candles, flowers and teddy bears.

Investigators confiscated other knives and a hammer from the house, but the weapon believed used to commit the killings was a kitchen knife that the children’s grandmother snatched from Carol Coronado’s hand and threw onto the driveway.

“Right now, we honestly don’t know what happened,” Coleman said.

Investigators will examine the mother’s mental state, including whether she suffered postpartum depression or was on drugs.

Coleman described the family’s home as a former workshop or “converted garage.” It opened to a common area and a kitchenette with a bedroom.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20140522/detectives-carol-corando-laid-childrens-bodies-out-neatly-on-bed-after-stabbing-them

"Coronado Angels": Funeral Held for Three Girls Allegedly Killed by Mother
Family members at the mass said they hoped the girls would be remembered as the innocent, happy babies they would always cherish

By Christina Cocca and Hetty Chang
Monday, Jun 2, 2014
Updated 8:32 PM PDT

Hundreds of family members and friends gathered Monday as they laid to rest their "Coronado Angels," three young Southern California girls who died last month, allegedly at the hands of their mother.

The girls' mother, 30-year-old Carol Coronado, pleaded not guilty to murder charges last week in the slayings of her three girls, 2-year-old Sophia, 1-year-old Yazmine and 3-month-old Xenia.

Coronado is accused of stabbing the children to death before trying to kill her own mother and then herself in their Torrance home on May 20, police said.

"They were so beautiful, so little, so innocent, so much fun, so full of life," the girls' godfather John Carrion said. "It's just a shame that they had to go this way."

Family members at the mass said they hoped the girls would be remembered as the innocent, happy babies they would always cherish.

"They all had their own personalities, but they were always happy," the girls' godmother Rose Deleon said. "They were always happy, they were always laughing, they were always playing with each other."

After the Monday mass in Gardena, the girls, called the "Coronado Angels," were laid to rest at the burial site in Rancho Palos Verdes.

"Look up at the sky at night," said the girls' father, Rudy Coronado. "When you see the three shiniest stars, that's them."

Mourners released pink and while balloons into the sky after the burial.

"Now they are everybody's babies, you know, not just ours," Carrion said. "They are going to bring a lot of things together. I'm hurting because they're gone, but I'm so glad that it's not going to be in vain."

The family has set up the Coronado Angel Fund to help with other costs and for bringing awareness to postpartum depression.

"We wanted to draw attention to the issue of postpartum depression and psychosis," family attorney Stephen Allen said during Carol's court appearance on May 29. "I think that more needs to be done to diagnose this type of disorder."

A family spokesperson said Carol showed signs of postpartum depression but her family did not know how to recognize the signs or how to help at the time.

Anyone who wants to contribute can donate to the Coronado Angel Fund with Wells Fargo account number 3842930731.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/funeral-three-girls-killed-torrance-coronado-261556441.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_LABrand

Woman pleads not guilty to killing three young daughters

By RUBEN VIVES
May 29, 2014, 3:04 PM

Carol Coronado, the woman accused of killing her three young daughters inside her West Carson home, pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Coronado's family, including her husband, were present as the 30-year-old woman was brought into the Compton courtroom in a wheelchair. Coronado looked straight at the judge and never glanced at her family behind her. She was surrounded by deputies and her attorney, Stephen Allen.

Her husband, Rudy Coronado, who sat in front of the courtroom, broke out in tears as his wife responded in a low and soft-pitched voice to the judge's questions.

At the end of the hearing, Allen made a statement on behalf of the family, saying Rudy Coronado supports his wife and thanked the community for its support.

"Lastly, we want to draw attention to the issue of postpartum depression and psychosis," Allen said. "More needs to be done to diagnose this disorder."

Allen said Carol Coronado has expressed remorse for what happened. He would not speak as to whether postpartum depression would be part of the defense.

"If that's what the medical diagnosis says, then that's probably where we're headed," Allen said.

Rudy Coronado, dressed in black and using a black handkerchief to wipe his tears, struggled to speak to reporters.

"I just want to thank everybody for their support," he said in a soft voice, looking down. "Everybody."

Carol Coronado's next court hearing is scheduled July 3.

She is accused of killing her daughters -- identified by relatives as Sophia, 2 1/2; Yazmine, 16 months; and Xenia, 2 months -- who were discovered May 20 inside a room, bloodied and laid out atop a bed.

Coronado was found next to their bodies, barely clothed and suffering from self-inflicted wounds, authorities said.

The attempted murder charge was related to an incident with her mother, authorities said.

Residents of the unincorporated neighborhood described the chaotic scene on the night of the killings.

Before police arrived, neighbors recalled seeing the father screaming outside the home as he frantically called for help. The grandmother called 911.

Investigators said Coronado was "covered with blood" when her mother found her lying on a bed next to the girls' bodies. Coronado, who was half-clothed, had self-inflicted stab wounds, said sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman.

When police led Coronado out of the house in the 1000 block of West 223rd Street, she was handcuffed and covered in a blanket, said neighbor Ashley Madrid.

"She had a zoned-out look and was just looking down," Madrid told The Times. "She had dry blood smeared on her face and legs."

Coronado's husband, Madrid said, collapsed in the street as sheriff's deputies escorted him to a patrol car.

"It was very horrible to see," she said. "Very heartbreaking."

Detectives removed several knives from the home, Coleman said. There was evidence the girls had been stabbed, he added, but it was unclear what other injuries they may have sustained.

L.A. County coroner's officials have yet to release autopsy results.

Coronado served in the military as a young woman, Coleman said, but left after a short stint because of medical reasons.

As part of the investigation, officials looked into Coronado's medical history and mental health, including whether she might have suffered postpartum depression after the birth of her youngest daughter.

In a brief interview with The Times immediately after the killings, Coronado's father-in-law said there were no obvious red flags before the killings. Rudy Coronado, 67, said his daughter-in-law was "trying to go to school and take care of the kids."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mother-pleads-not-guilty-killing-girls-20140529-story.html