Police Charge Apparently Suicidal Arizona Mother With Killing Her Two Children
Sept. 15, 2013— -- An apparently suicidal Arizona mother is facing murder charges after her 10-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son were found dead in a Santa Ana, Calif., hotel room, police said.
Authorities charged Marilyn Edge, 42, from Scottsdale with two counts of murder after she was released from the hospital Saturday night, Santa Ana police spokesman Cpl. Anthony Bertagna told The Associated Press. She is currently in custody at the Santa Ana Jail.
Officers found Edge in an Albertsons parking lot near Costa Mesa, Calif., Saturday afternoon, after she crashed her gray Honda Accord into protective poles surrounding an electrical box in what is being characterized as a suicide attempt, ABC News' Los Angeles station KABC-TV reported.
"It was clear that it was an intentional act," Costa Mesa Sgt. Tim Starn told The Associated Press.
When police arrived on the scene, Edge refused to unlock her doors so they could get her out of the vehicle, KABC-TV reported. She also placed an electrical cord around her neck and attempted to strangle herself, police said.
Officers then smashed a window to break her out of the car. They found a propane tank in the front passenger area of the car, according to KABC-TV.
As paramedics were preparing to take her to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, to be treated for her injuries, she reportedly made mention of her Santa Ana hotel room and her two children, leading police to believe "a crime might have occurred," Starn told KABC-TV.
Authorities went to the Hampton Inn & Suites where she was staying, and found the two children dead in a room on the hotel's third-floor.
While police said no weapons were found at the scene, the children's cause of death is under investigation and is being treated as a homicide.
Edge was driving a car with a Georgia license plate, according to KABC-TV. It is unclear why she and her children were in California. She is due in court Tuesday for an arraignment.
The children's father lives out of state, KABC-TV reported. He was not notified of the children's deaths until Sunday.
Santa Ana police did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.
Hampton Inn & Suites did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
