Death penalty a possibility for California mom accused of drowning son in a ditch, DA says
The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office has charged Sherri Renee Telnas with murder in the drowning death of her 12-year-old son and attempted murder of her seven-year-old son.
If convicted on all charges she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with possibility of parole or the death penalty, the DA’s Office said.
At Telnas’ request, the arraignment was continued to Wednesday morning in the Porterville courthouse, the DA’s Office said. Bail was denied.
The shocking crime happened on June 29 near the family’s home northwest of Porterville. Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area after getting a call around 5:30 a.m. that Telnas, 45, had taken her sons to a corn field across the street from their home.
When deputies arrived they found the boys unconscious in an irrigation canal. Jackson, 12, was taken to a local hospital where he later died. Seven-year-old Jacob Ray is fighting for his life at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera.
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward charged Telnas with one count of murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait. The charge is typically applied when the perpetrator conceals the purpose of the crime and then surprises the victim. Telnas is also facing one count of battery on a peace officer and one count of gassing for throwing fecal matter or bodily fluids on a peace officer.
It was not the first time Telnas was accused of endangering a child. In April 2008, according to news reports, she immersed herself in a Montana river with Jackson, then 10 months old. She then drove him to the hospital and stated to police “I tried to drown my baby.”
Telnas was charged with attempted homicide in 2008, but pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal endangerment instead as part of a plea agreement. During her trial, she underwent a mental evaluation that found she could not have acted purposely.
This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 3:24 PM.
