A mother from Arizona has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of her two children after their bodies were found in a Southern California hotel.
The 42-year-old woman from Scottsdale, Arizona crashed her car into steel poles surrounding an electric box in Costa Mesa, California on Saturday. When local police arrived, they found the woman attempting to strangle herself with a cord that was wrapped around her neck.
After rescue workers removed the woman from the car, she was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach for treatment, where she reportedly "made some statements that indicated a crime might have occurred" at a hotel in Santa Ana, said Costa Mesa Sgt. Tim Starn.
The woman’s two dead children were reportedly found soon after in a third-floor room at a nearby Hampton Inn & Suites. Police said that they were not sure how long the children had been there or how they had died.
The woman was taken into custody after her release from the hospital Saturday night, on suspicion of two counts of murder.
Police are withholding names and the genders of the children until their relatives can be notified.
"Because the children's father has not been notified of their death, the mother's name and mugshot will not be released to the media," Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said, according to CNN. "We don't want the deceased children's next of kin finding out about their death from the media."
The woman’s last address was listed in Scottsdale, Arizona, though she had Georgia license plates on her vehicle. Police were not sure why she was in Orange County.