'She's a great woman, she doesn't deserve to be in jail': Husband DEFENDS wife 'who stabbed their three daughters to death' and vows to keep marriage alive

• Carol Coronado, 30, was arrested on suspicion of murder May 20 at her home in Torrance, California

• Her mother found the three girls dead in a bed at the home with their naked mother beside them clutching a knife

• Husband Rudy Coronado said Thursday there had been warning signs, but he did not know anything about postpartum depression

• Mr Coronado called his wife 'a great woman' and said she did not deserve to be behind bars

• Mrs Coronado allegedly tried to cut her own wrists and was taken to hospital before being booked into jail

By Snejana Farberov - DailyMail.co.uk

July 4, 2014

The husband of a California mother accused of stabbing to death her three young daughters has spoken out in her defense, saying that his wife's undiagnosed postpartum depression was to blame for the tragedy.

Carol Coronado, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of her children, Sophia, 3, Yazmine, 1, and two-month-old Xenia. The Torrance, California, woman, is also accused of trying to kill her own mother after stabbing her daughters May 20.

The mother of three was taken to a mental hospital after she tried to take her own life by stabbing herself in the chest, according to police.

Carol Coronado's defense team has retained the services of a psychologist who will examine her for any signs of postpartum depression.

'I'm not a doctor but I know for a fact that was that disease, and it wasn't my wife,' Rudy Coronado told NBC Los Angeles Thursday.

The grieving father revealed that there had been many warning signs before the murders, but he did not know how to read them.

‘That's the reason why we need to bring awareness to [postpartum depression] because I was never educated on nothing like this,’ Mr Coronado said. ‘I didn't have a clue.’

He added that if it were not for the psychosis, his wife would not have hurt anyone 'in a million years.'

Rudy Coronado confided that he has been struggling to come to terms with the loss of his girls over the past month and a half.

‘It doesn't get easier by the day, it gets a little more harder,’ he said.

But even as he continued mourning his daughters, Coronado vehemently defended his wife, describing her as a 'great woman.'

‘She doesn't deserve to be where she's at,’ he said.

The 30-year-old mother of three has never been diagnosed with, or treated for, postpartum depression.

However, the family have set up the Coronado Angel Fund to raise awarenss of the mental health issue affecting many new mothers.

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, 8 to 19 per cent of women reported having frequent postpartum depressive symptoms.

The devastated Rudy Coronado had previously told MailOnline: 'I don’t know why the hell this happened, she killed my babies man, she killed my babies,' as tears streamed down his face.

'It was like a demon possessed,' he continued. '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.’

The girls' godfather, John Carrion, told the Daily Breeze in May: '[Rudy] loved her. He is concerned for her. He understands what happened, but he is adamant whatever happened wasn’t her. She needs help.'

Carol Coronado's mother Julie Piercey first discovered the children's butchered bodies covered in blood lying lifeless in the bed at around 5pm on May 20. The accused killer is said by investigators to have then gone at the woman with a knife.

'Oh my God!' Piercey is said to have screamed before wrestling the knife from the hands of her blood-spattered daughter, sources told the Daily Breeze. Husband Rudy was outside working on his car when the killings occurred.

Police said Mrs Coronado was found naked and holding a knife after reportedly trying to cut her own wrists and stabbing herself in the chest. Several knives were recovered at a grisly scene.

'The babies were on the bed,' Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman said.'And not in a haphazard fashion, they were placed on the bed, so how and where they were killed, we're going to have to figure that out.'

Sheriff's deputies took the mother, who was naked except for a blanket, to a patrol car and she was then placed in an ambulance, Madrid said.

Mrs Coronado joined the U.S. Army after high school but only spent a few months in the service before being released due to an injury, Coleman said.

 

Woman accused of killing 3 daughters could face death penalty

By Kate Mather, Richard Winton - Latimes.com

May 23, 2014

Murder charges filed against a West Carson mother accused of killing her three young daughters carries a special allegation that could bring the death penalty, prosecutors said.

But the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Friday it would decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Carol Coronado, 30.

Prosecutors charged Coronado on Friday with three counts of murder in the deaths of her daughters, identified by relatives as Sophia, 2 1/2; Yazmine, 16 months; and Xenia, 2 months. Coronado also faces special allegations that multiple murders were committed and that she used a deadly and dangerous weapon--a knife.

Coronado also was charged with one count of attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill her mother, according to the felony complaint filed in the case. Investigators said it was Coronado's mother who found her daughter naked and "covered with blood" on a bed next to the bodies of her own girls.

It was unclear when Coronado would be arraigned as she remained hospitalized Friday for self-inflicted wounds. Sheriff's officials said she would be transferred to the jail ward at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and booked there on the charges.

Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives were still trying to determine what prompted the slayings Tuesday evening at Coronado's home in the 1000 block of West 223rd Street.

Investigators were looking into Coronado's medical history and mental health, sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman said, including whether she might have suffered postpartum depression after the birth of her youngest daughter.

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.

Those who know the family said there was no indication anything was wrong. One relative said Coronado's husband--who was working on a pickup across the street when his daughters were killed--was "dazed and confused."

"Right now, he's giving her the benefit of the doubt," relative John Carrion said. "He just said he didn't believe he saw Carol — he saw a demon inside her. He said he doesn't blame Carol. He blames the … demon."

Carrion declined to speak further about the children's mother, saying only that he had never seen her angry.

"I don't know how I feel about the woman right now," he said. "I don't understand what was going on in that woman's head."

 

Outpouring of anguish at vigil; three children dead, mother in custody

By Megan Nicolai, Jenna Chandler - LosAngelesRegister.com

May 22, 2014

TORRANCE – More than 80 family members, friends and neighbors prayed and sang at a vigil Wednesday night to honor the three girls killed Tuesday in their Torrance-area home.

Rudy Coronado collapsed in front of a memorial set up for his daughters on a wood pallet in his driveway. He wept and rocked throughout the 30-minute vigil, and kissed a photo of his daughters as flowers, stuffed animals, balloons and candles were placed in front of the memorial.

Attendees of the vigil gathered to remember three girls, 21/2-year-old Sophia, 16-month-old Yazmine and 2-month-old Xenia, found dead in their home by their grandmother the night before.

Their small, blood-covered bodies were neatly arranged on a bed. Their mother was lying next to them, and later arrested as their suspected killer.

Carol Coronado, 30, remained in custody and hospitalized Wednesday with multiple self-inflicted stab and slice wounds. She was expected to be booked into the Carson sheriff’s station jail on suspicion of three counts of murder.

“They were the most beautiful babies in the world,” John Carrion, the girls’ godfather, said. “Words can’t describe what’s happened.”

Those who live in the 1000 block of West 223rd Street, heard a father’s distraught screams ring through the neighborhood.

Ashley Madrid said she saw her neighbor, Rudy Coronado, in his front yard wailing: “‘She killed my daughters.’”

His screams brought another neighbor, Veronica Ruiz, running from her kitchen. She said she heard Coronado continue: “‘She’s crazy,’ he said, and ‘She killed the babies.’ ... He showed me the knife with blood,” Ruiz said.

Neighbors and authorities said a grandmother made the grisly discovery, the girls’ small, blood-covered bodies neatly arranged on a bed. Their mother lay next to them.

As the grandmother ran outside, she threw a bloody knife to the ground and told the girls’ father, who was working on a car, what she’d seen.

She called 911. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Deputies escorted Carol Coronado, handcuffed and cloaked in a blanket, out of the house. Underneath the blanket, Coronado’s arms, legs and face were smeared with blood, Madrid said.

Investigators were reviewing Coronado’s medical records and her service in the military. She joined the Army after high school but spent only a few months in the service before being released due to an injury, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Coleman said.

Multiple knives were taken from the scene, including the one the grandmother tossed to the ground, believed to be the one used to stab the girls to death.

Authorities said the grandmother, whose name was not released, had come to the home near Torrance after receiving a call from her daughter. Coleman said detectives believe the stabbings likely occurred just before the grandmother arrived.

“The babies were on the bed,” Coleman said. “And not in a haphazard fashion. They were placed on the bed, so how and where they were killed, we’re going to have to figure that out.”

Carrion said the family was “doing horrible, just horrible.”

“They’re just dazed and confused,” he said.

His eyes moist and puffy, Rudy Coronado emerged from the light green home about 9 a.m. Wednesday. He quickly covered his face with a hand towel to shield himself from news reporters and was driven away.

Eddie Larsen, who lives nearby, attended the vigil. He said he hoped to support the family any way he could.

“I just can’t believe this kind of evil exists,” Larsen said. “I feel terrible for what happened to the children, and equally as bad for the woman.”

 

Officials focus on mother's mental health in deaths of 3 girls

By Ruben Vives, Richard Winton, Kate Mather - Latimes.com

May 21, 2014

It was a quiet evening in the working-class West Carson neighborhood — until residents heard the screams.

A woman ran out of a small, white house, a bloody knife in her hand. She screamed at her son-in-law and frantically began dialing her cellphone.

"She killed the babies," she said.

Inside the house in the 1000 block of West 223rd Street, authorities said, the woman had found her 30-year-old daughter, naked and "covered with blood" on a bed next to the neatly arranged bodies of her own three girls. Investigators say that Carol Coronado killed her daughters — identified by relatives as Sophia, 21/2 ; Yazmine, 16 months; and Xenia, 2 months — before stabbing and slicing herself with a kitchen knife.

The girls' father was working on a pickup parked across the street, neighbors said. He screamed when he saw the bloody scene inside his home.

"He kept saying, 'Oh my God, Oh my god,' " neighbor Veronica Ruiz said.

Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives Wednesday were still trying to determine what prompted the slayings the day before. Coronado and her children had never been reported to the Department of Children and Family Services' child abuse hotline, according to sources who have reviewed the case. Sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman said investigators there were not aware of any previous incidents involving the stay-at-home mother.

Investigators were looking into Coronado's mental health, Coleman said, including whether she might have suffered postpartum depression after the birth of her youngest daughter.

"We still haven't determined a reason," Coleman said. "Obviously, we're going to have to delve into her mental state."

Those who know the family said there was no indication that anything was wrong. Coronado often took the girls on walks up and down the street, a neighbor said. Her Facebook page featured several photos of the girls, including an ultrasound photo.

In a brief interview with The Times, Coronado's father-in-law said she was "trying to go to school and take care of the kids."

"It's real bad," Rudy Coronado, 67, said.

Another relative, John Carrion, said Coronado's husband — who is also named Rudy — was "dazed and confused."

"Right now, he's giving her the benefit of doubt," Carrion said. "He just said he didn't believe he saw Carol — he saw a demon inside her. He said he doesn't blame Carol. He blames the … demon."

Carrion declined to speak further about the children's' mother, saying only that he had never seen her angry.

"I don't know how I feel about the woman right now," he said. "I don't understand what was going on in that woman's head."

Authorities responded to the Coronado home about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday. Neighbors watched as deputies escorted her from the house, handcuffed and wrapped in a blanket.

"She had a zoned-out look and was just looking down," Ashley Madrid, 27, said. "She had dry blood smeared on her face and legs."

Coronado was taken to a hospital for the self-inflicted wounds, which Coleman said included a puncture wound to her chest. She was listed in stable condition Wednesday, and was expected to be booked on suspicion of murder when she was released.

Detectives removed several knives from the home, Coleman said. There was evidence that the girls had been stabbed, he added, but it was unclear what other injuries they may have sustained. Autopsies were scheduled to be conducted Thursday.

"We still haven't established how they died," Coleman said. "But there were stab wounds."

Coleman said the girls' bodies were carefully lined up across the bed. Coronado, he said, was lying perpendicular to them.

Investigators also planned to examine Coronado's medical history. Coleman said she briefly served in the Army more than a decade ago before she left for medical reasons.

Outside the home, relatives assembled a small memorial of flowers, candles and teddy bears. On Wednesday evening, several dozen people attended a vigil for the slain girls, including their father. Surrounded by relatives and friends, he cried and rubbed the photos of his three daughters.

Amid prayers and chants, the younger Rudy Coronado dropped his head to the ground and wept louder. Relatives stroked his back and head.

The girls, Carrion said, were energetic and loved the Disney movie "Frozen." There were plans for a baptism this fall.

"They were the most beautiful babies you had ever seen," he said. "They loved their daddy and he loved them. Pray for my babies, please, pray for my babies. Pray for Rudy. And even pray for that woman."

 

Witness recalls chaotic scene: 'She killed the babies'

By Ruben Vives, Richard Winton, Kate Mather - Latimes.com

May 21, 2014

Veronica Ruiz was cooking dinner when her daughter rushed into the kitchen, saying their neighbor's mother was in the front yard with a bloody knife.

Ruiz went outside and saw the woman screaming at her son-in-law, who was working on a truck across the street. They ran inside. Seconds later, Ruiz said, she heard more screams.

The man ran back outside, Ruiz said, frantically trying to dial his cellphone.

"Oh my God," he said. "Oh my God."

Ruiz went to his mother-in-law, who was on the phone with police.

"She killed the babies," the woman said.

Residents of an unincorporated neighborhood near Torrance described the chaotic scene Tuesday night, when a 30-year-old stay-at-home mother was arrested on suspicion of killing her three daughters.

Law enforcement officials identified the girls as 2 1/2-year-old Sophia, 16-month-old Yazmine and Zenia, who was 2 months old.

Investigators said Carol Coronado, 30, was "covered with blood" when her mother found her lying on a bed next to the girls' bodies. Coronado, who was half-clothed, also had self-inflicted stab wounds, said sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman.

There was evidence to suggest Coronado used a knife in the attack, Coleman said, but it was unclear what other injuries the children might have suffered.

"There was evidence of stab wounds," Coleman told The Times on Wednesday. "We still haven't established how they died exactly yet. But there were stab wounds."

Coroner's officials said autopsies were scheduled to be performed Thursday.

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 said. "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."

Investigators are still trying to determine what happened, Coleman said. He said detectives were not aware of any prior incidents involving Coronado, but would examine whether she suffered any postpartum depression after her youngest daughter was born.

"We still haven't determined a reason," Coleman said, later adding, "Obviously we're going to have to delve into her mental state."

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

In a brief interview with The Times, 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."

Rudy Coronado said his son called him with the news Tuesday night. He was so quiet, he said, "he couldn't say anything."

"It's real bad," Coronado said.