A 28-year-old mother has been arrested for murder after her three young children were found dead inside their Los Angeles home.
Sandra Chico was being held Tuesday on suspicion of murder after the children, two boys and a girl, were found dead in a bedroom in their East Los Angeles home a day earlier.
The children are all under three years old and the youngest is just six months old.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt Chuck Calderaro said the children were not breathing and efforts to revive them were not successful after a family member called 911 at about 12.45pm on Monday.
Chico was immediately detained and was being questioned as a 'person of interest' after the bodies were discovered.
Authorities would not comment on the mother's mental state.
Sandra Chico was being held Tuesday on suspicion of murder after the children, two boys and a girl, were found dead in a bedroom in their East Los Angeles home
Neighbors were spotted embracing on Monday outside the home where the three children were found dead
She is being held on $2 million bond ahead of her first court appeared on Wednesday.
The children's father was not at home at the time.
Calderaro said it was not immediately clear what caused the deaths and autopsies will be conducted.
There were 'no obvious signs' trauma, he said.
'At this point it's very preliminary in the investigation,' Calderaro said. 'We know the children were in a bedroom within the house. As far as cause of death that's unknown at this time and that's under investigation.'
The family had gathered at the home on Sunday for a celebration.
The children's uncle Arturo Cerezo, who arrived at the home as the mother was being taken into custody, told CBSLA: 'It's pretty hard to determine what really happened.'
'I mean, because, I know her,' he said of the mother.
'I know she would do anything for those kids, and that’s what’s so hard to understand what happened.'
Preliminary information revealed no prior reports of abuse or child neglect at the home, the sheriff's department said.
The kids' uncle told CBSLA : 'It's pretty hard to determine what really happened'
Detectives were spotted working the crime scene on Monday after the bodies of the children were discovered
The children's 28-year-old mother, who was at home at the time and has not been identified publicly, is being questioned as a 'person of interest'
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's official walks near the scene after three young children were found dead in a bedroom at a residence in East Los Angeles on Monday
Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose district includes East Los Angeles, said she was 'devastated' to hear about the deaths.
'It is a horrifying situation and my office is working with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Department of Children and Family Services to launch a full investigation into the brutal murder of these three innocent children,' Solis said in a statement.
'My office is also leveraging County resources to provide counseling and support for the family and neighboring residents.
'Support services are also being extended to the firefighters and first responders who were the first ones on-site and witnessed this travesty.
'Although I wish this never occurred, we must do everything possible to ensure no other child endures such a tragedy.'
The deaths come after a mother was arrested in the deaths of her three children in April in Los Angeles.
Residents watch as authorities work on the scene after three young children were found dead in a bedroom at a residence in East Los Angeles on Monday
Preliminary information revealed no prior reports of abuse or child neglect at the home, the sheriff's department said
