An Oregon mother is facing attempted murder charges after police say she tried to kill her three young children and herself using carbon monoxide.
Chardonnay Marie Benavidez, 32, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder in the first degree and three counts of assault in the first degree after the terrifying incident in Keizer, Oregon.
According to the Keizer Police Department, Benavidez called 911 just after 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, from her home and reported that her children were falling in and out of consciousness.
Police said she allegedly told dispatchers that she had attempted to kill the children and herself with carbon monoxide.
“She did some research that led her to use the vehicle exhaust as the implement in which she was going to take their lives,” Keizer Police Department Lt. Trevor Wenning told PEOPLE.
Wenning said Benavidez brought the children back inside the house, called 911 and told authorities they had been inside the vehicle for about 20 minutes while the exhaust was running.
When officers arrived, they found Benavidez in the living room with her three children: 2-year-old twins and a 4-year-old.
All four were taken to Salem Hospital Emergency Department and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Officers later found a disturbing scene inside the home’s attached garage. According to police, a vehicle had a tube running from its exhaust pipe into the interior.
“When we looked into the garage, it was so overwhelming with exhaust fumes that police couldn’t go in there,” Wenning said.
Fire crews had to enter the garage wearing breathing equipment, open the doors and ventilate the area before police could safely go inside to collect evidence.
The children were medically cleared and released to their father the following day.
During Benavidez’s arraignment, a Marion County prosecutor alleged that she told the children they were having a sleepover in the vehicle, the Statesman Journal reported.
The prosecutor also alleged that a gun was found inside the vehicle. Benavidez allegedly told police she planned to shoot herself if the carbon monoxide killed the children but not her, according to the outlet.
The children’s father, Antonio Benavidez, told KOIN he was stunned by the allegations and described his ex-wife as someone he once believed was a devoted mother.
“She was such a great f—ing mother,” he told the outlet.
Antonio said he went to the hospital after learning what happened but was not allowed to see his children or get information right away.
“I went to the hospital. They wouldn’t let me in. They wouldn’t give me no information,” he said. “I ended up getting detained because I was like, ‘Dude, those are my kids back there, I’m f—ing going in.’”
Benavidez is currently being held without bail.
Her next court hearing is scheduled for next week.
Poor kids (as usual).
The sperm donor sounds as classy as the sperm recipient!!!