Benavidez had planned to tell her children they were having a sleepover in the family vehicle, but intended to pump exhaust fumes into the car as part of a murder-suicide attempt.
An Oregon mother has been arrested after allegedly admitting to police that she planned to kill her three young children and herself using carbon monoxide poisoning.
32-year-old Chardonnay Marie Benavidez was arrested after calling 911 on Saturday and reporting that she and her children were nearly unconscious. Benavidez had planned to tell her children they were having a sleepover in the family vehicle, but intended to pump exhaust fumes into the car as part of a murder-suicide attempt.
When officers arrived at the home, they found Benavidez’s two-year-old twins and four-year-old child in the living room. Police also discovered a tube that connected to the exhaust pipe to the inside of the vehicle.
Benavidez was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree attempted murder. Her children were taken to the hospital and were cleared. Benavidez was put on a physician’s hold and examined by psychiatric staff before being arrested.
According to KOIN, her ex-husband said she was a “great f*cking mother,” and police wouldn't allow him into the hospital. “They wouldn’t give me no information. I ended up getting detained because I was like ‘Dude those are my kids back there I’m f*cking going in.’”
The ex-husband also said Benavidez had tried to harm herself before, though he was surprised she had also attempted to harm the children. He added that the children remain unaware of what exactly occurred.
Benavidez told first responders she had the plan to commit the mruder suicide for a week and considered multiple methods until she determined carbon monoxide. Police said a firearm was also recovered from the vehicle. Additionally, all the family’s possessions from the home were donated.
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