Mom Of Kids Found Dead Under Home Charged

SAN ANTONIO -- A San Antonio woman who police said has confessed to killing her two children is being charged with capital murder.

Valerie Lopez, 19, was arrested Saturday, along with her boyfriend after a four-day manhunt ended. Lopez's boyfriend, Jerry Salazar, 28, has been charged with injury to a child by omission. Police said he knew Lopez was abusing her children.

Authorities said Lopez told investigators that she beat her 18-month-old daughter, Sariyah Garcia, to death on Christmas Eve. They said she also confessed to killing her 4-month-old son, Sebastian Lopez, two months later when she rolled over him.

Police said Lopez wrapped both bodies in plastic bags and hid them under her house. The neighbors discovered the decomposing bodies Tuesday, while trying to pinpoint the source of a foul odor they had been smelling for as long as two weeks.

Lopez continued life as usual, having a birthday party for Salazar and buying him roses and chocolates for Valentine's Day, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The couple told friends and neighbors that a dead animal was causing the stench around the triplex complex. They also told their friends that children were staying with their grandmother, the paper reported.

"It didn't seem like it bothered her or him," Tony Serenil, 41, Salazar's cousin and a tenant at the complex told the paper. "Like if those children never existed."

An affidavit for an arrest warrant said Lopez admitted to police that her daughter would not stop crying, so she repeatedly struck Sariyah "about the head and body." The warrant said that after the alleged beating, the child was unresponsive. "Instead of calling for medical attention, (she) wrapped (Sariyah) in a blanket, wrapped the blanket with tape and placed the child in a trash bag," the document said. It went on to say Lopez put the trash bag in a duffel bag and hid it under the home.

Her bail's been set at $10 million.

"For whatever reason, evil lurks in some individuals and they kill children," District Attorney Susan Reed said. "But we can't stand by and wash our hands of it."

Reed plans to seek the death penalty against Lopez.

The paper reported that when Lopez was 15 years old she was accused of punching her 9-month-old daughter, Alexis Ramirez, in the chest with a closed fist. Lopez was convicted in juvenile court of assault on a child, the paper reported.

Lopez and Alexis were later placed in a foster home by Child Protective Services after Lopez said she had been abused, according to the paper. Lopez then gave birth to a son, Jeovoni Lopez, the following year. He was eventually placed in the same foster home.

The paper reported that Lopez ran away from the foster home in January 2005, leaving both children behind. Those two children were later were adopted. Lopez then gave birth to Sariyah in October 2005.

CPS was notified later of alleged charges of child abuse against Sariyah. But when they met with Lopez, she had other reasons for the child's bruises. CPS left the child in the home, the paper reported.

Neighbors, angry with the agency, believe it failed the children by not doing a thorough investigation. Over the weekend, someone spray painted "Shame on CPS" on a wooden board and nailed it to the complex.