A grandmother from California walked into an apartment and laid eyes on the gruesome sight of her young grandchildren, lying lifeless after being stabbed to death. The little children, who were 3, 2, and 6 months old, were reportedly murdered in a brutal manner by their mother, who carjacked a vehicle after leaving their bodies behind and drove off.
A resident in the neighborhood said, “My heart is broken. Every time I see news about children like this, my heart breaks in pieces. And now, it’s like right in front of my building–it’s unbelievable.” The sight of the three children’s bodies was so horrific that the initial responders who first arrived at the scene of the crime, are now receiving counseling. While at the scene, Lt. Raul Joel said, “These are the moments we carry throughout our career. It’s hard to process that as a police officer.”
Before stabbing her children to death, Liliana was in the middle of a bitter custody battle with her ex-boyfriend and the father of her children, Erik Denton. On Sunday, Erik had planned to take his three kids out to buy fish so they could put them in their new fish tank. However, the day before the planned outing with their father, the children were found slain at home after suffering a harrowing death at the hands of their mother.
“Liliana was very sick, and this is not – she was not herself, and it’s been going on for several months that she has been unwell,” Erik’s cousin, Teri Miller said. When Erik arrived at the apartment where his children’s bodies were found, he left star-shaped balloons, a few toys, and pictures of his children at the memorial that was placed outside the building. As he and his family mourn the immeasurable loss, Terri said “…We’re completely destroyed. Those kids were everything. I mean, his whole being and essence just revolves around those kids. He had his heart set on seeing the kids because he was supposed to pick the kids up today and have them for the week.”
The children’s godmother, Gómez-Naranjo, also spoke about the three little ones and said, “They were the most happiest kids I have met in my life. I never thought I had to lose them so soon… They were everything to me, and I wanted to spend every minute of the day with them.” Although the mother, Liliana, fled the scene and drove away for more than four hours, she was eventually arrested by Los Angeles Police Department and taken into custody. Authorities are still yet to determine the exact motive behind the murders of her children.
Following the children’s deaths, a GoFundMe page was set up and has so far seen kind donors raise more than $25,000 for the grieving family.