In re A.R.

FACTS

This dependency case arose out of tragic circumstances. In January 2021, Mother stabbed the children’s father to death during an altercation in their bedroom, while the children were also at home in their own bedroom. The children heard the parents arguing earlier; they heard a ‘“commotion”’ and their father ‘“crying and sounding like he was in pain.”’ The children banged on the door for about 15 minutes before the screaming stopped. They both believed Mother “was killing [their father.]” Mother was taken into custody by police and later charged with murder. The children were taken into protective custody; SSA later filed a petition alleging the court should take jurisdiction over the children under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (b)(1), (c) and (g).1 SSA did not initially interview Mother on

1 All further statutory references are to this code, unless otherwise indicated.

3 the advice of law enforcement officials, and Mother later invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to speak. The children were placed in the custody of their paternal grandparents, where they remain. Mother submitted on the petition, which was sustained in April 2021. The court…