Mother accused of locking her two children to slowly die in her car over 14 hours pleads not guilty

An Arizona mother who has been accused of locking her children in her car to slowly die over 14 hours has pleaded not guilty to murder and child abuse. 

Brittany Velasquez, 20, appeared at Pinal County Supreme Court on Friday for her arraignment after she was charged with the murder of her two children.  

The young mother’s two-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter were found dead in her car in Superior, Arizona, after being left strapped into their seats.

Investigators believe that Valesquez was the last person to see them alive, but she claims a babysitter – who remains a mystery – was watching the children that day. 

Velasquez is facing two counts of second-degree murder and child abuse.  

 

Brittany Velasquez, 20, has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of her two-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter. She pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday 

Ten-month-old Brooklyn

Two-year-old Christopher

Ten-month-old Brooklyn (left, in June) and two-year-old Christopher (right, in July), were found dead inside a car parked outside of their home in Superior, Arizona, Monday night

Family members carry a casket holding two-year-old Lorenzo and ten-month-old Brooklyn out of a church in Superior, Arizona, after their funeral on April 7

Family members carry a casket holding two-year-old Lorenzo and ten-month-old Brooklyn out of a church in Superior, Arizona, after their funeral on April 7

Cops were called to the house the woman shares with her children and grandparents in small-town Superior Monday night, where they found the two kids dead inside a car parked in the driveway. They were buckled into their car seats, and cops say there were signs of foul play. 

The statement gives Velasquez’ age as 20 but jail records list her age as 21. She has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

AZFamily.com identified her children as daughter Brooklyn Rose Miranda and son Christopher Miranda. 

Velasquez claims the children were being watched by a babysitter, but no such person has come forward. 

Cops won't say how the two kids were killed. Above, the house where the children were found. They lived there with their mother and great-grandparents

Cops won’t say how the two kids were killed. Above, the house where the children were found. They lived there with their mother and great-grandparents

The victims' grandmother, Cathy Wernett, said that she called CPS several times on the mother

The victims’ grandmother, Cathy Wernett, said that she called CPS several times on the mother

During a phone call with Fox 10 Phoenix, Velasquez said she ‘feels betrayed by the babysitter. 

‘It makes me very mad,’ she said to the news station. ‘I feel betrayed. I feel very betrayed.’ 

She claimed she was just hired on at a local restaurant where she worked a 12-hour shift on the day her two children were found strapped to their car seats.  

Velasquez’s former mother-in-law, the children’s grandmother, told Fox 10 that Velasquez was ‘volatile’ and ‘mentally unstable’. She said the children’s father recently died of a meth overdose. 

The grandmother said that she called Child Protective Services several times to say that Velasquez was a danger to her own kids and that they should be taken out of her care. 

Autopsies are being conducted on the bodies of the two children, pictured above in August

Autopsies are being conducted on the bodies of the two children, pictured above in August

The children’s father, Christopher Miranda (right, with their mother) had recently died of a meth overdose 

‘You can only make so many calls. And then when they don’t call you back…I mean, come on, what are you supposed to do? Go down there and literally show them?’ the woman asked. 

She added: ‘Do you think 80-year-old grandparents should be taking care of a two year old and 10 month old? 

‘Come on, they can barely take care of themselves. She’s in a walker, he’s barely walking around they have a handicapped son.’    



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