KTLA

Tulare County Mom Arrested After Sons Found in Ditch; 1 Child Dead, 1 Critically Injured

The 18900 block of Avenue 184 in Porterville is seen in a Google Maps Street View image on June 29, 2019.

A Central California woman has been arrested on suspicion of killing her 12-year-old son and critically injuring her 7-year-old son who were found unresponsive in a ditch.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s office said someone called 911 Saturday to report that 45-year-old Sherri Telnas was acting strangely and had taken her sons to a corn field across the street from their rural home in the 18900 block of Avenue 184 in Porterville.

While deputies were going to the house, they were notified that the boys were found unresponsive in an irrigation ditch.

They were rushed to a hospital where the older boy died from his injuries. The younger one was listed in critical condition.

The sheriff’s office called the case “horrific” but did not release further details on the investigation or the nature of their injuries.

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