Arizona mom pleads not guilty to murder of her two children
Apr 13, 2018, 2:03 PM | Updated: 2:06 pm
This undated photo provided by the Pinal County Sheriff's office shows Brittany Velasquez. Authorities said Tuesday, March 27, 2018, that Velasquez has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder after her two children were found in car seats in a vehicle amid evidence of foul play. (Pinal County Sheriff's Office via AP)
(Pinal County Sheriff's Office via AP)
PHOENIX — An Arizona mother has pleaded not guilty to murder charges after her two children were found dead in a vehicle last month.
Brittany Velasquez, 20, pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of child abuse in Pinal County Superior Court on Friday, according to Pinal Central.
Velasquez was indicted by a grand jury last week after a 2-year-old boy and a 10-month-old girl were found deceased in a car, buckled into safety seats.
She was initially arrested and charged after evidence indicated there was foul play.
Authorities said Velasquez was the last person to see her children alive. She allegedly left them in a car outside a family home at about 9:30 a.m. that day and went to work.
The children were dead when Velasquez returned to the car nearly 14 hours later. A cause of death has not yet been determined.
Velasquez later told police that she dropped the children off with someone who was to care for them.
“There was no proof that Brittany actually dropped the children off,” a court document said. “It is known that the kids spent several hours in the vehicle.”
Superior police Sgt. Christian Ensley, the town’s interim police chief, said police had been called to the home about seven or eight times in the past two years.
Child protective services were called to the home in January after police responded to a call of a theft, but officials did not take any action.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety said it had received two past reports about the children, but never found evidence of abuse or neglect and had no reason to remove the siblings from their mother’s custody.
Officials were told Velasquez would allegedly leave her children for days at a time in the care of others, sometimes without informing them.
Velasquez was held on a $2 million bond.
Her children were buried last week.
Velasquez will appear in court next in June.
Superior is about 70 miles east of Phoenix.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
