Indiana Mother Faces Murder Counts In Death Of Son, Daughter
ELKHART, Ind. (AP) — A mother has been arrested on two preliminary counts of murder after two children believed to be her son and daughter were found dead in a vehicle in northern Indiana, and police found the body of a man who they believe was an acquaintance of the woman.
Elkhart police said Tuesday that they believe the children found dead a day earlier are siblings Liliana Hernandez, 7, and Rene Pasztor, 6. Police had issued an Amber Alert for the children Monday, saying they were "believed to be in extreme danger."
Police released no details about how the children died. Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday morning in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Elkhart police said the children's mother, 29-year-old Amber Pasztor, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was arrested Monday on two preliminary counts of murder. She was being held in the Elkhart County jail and has yet to be formally charged.
Elkhart police Sgt. Chris Snyder said investigators were working Tuesday "to put the pieces together" and determine what happened between the time the two youngsters were abducted in Fort Wayne and when the two bodies believed to be theirs were found in the city about 70 miles to the northwest.
Snyder said Pasztor parked outside the city's police department Monday evening and began speaking to an officer who was leaving after completing his shift.
"She pulled up to him and explained to him that she was part of the Amber Alert and the two kids were in the back seat," Snyder said, adding that the officer then saw the bodies of two children in the car.
He said police have no indication of a motive in the case. Snyder said Pasztor was initially cooperative following her arrest before "she became pretty emotional. And that's kind of where our detectives left it last night."
It wasn't immediately clear whether Pasztor had an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
Capt. Steve Stone of the Allen County Sheriff's Department said officers were searching for 65-year-old Frank Macomber, who authorities believe was with Pasztor at some point Monday, when they found the body of an older male early Tuesday in a wooded area near Macomber's Fort Wayne home.
An autopsy is planned Tuesday to determine the man's identity and cause of death.
Pasztor did not have legal custody of the children, police said. Police declined to say who the children were living with when they were abducted or why they were taken.
Police "are still actively investigating the case" and prosecutors haven't received their findings, Elkhart County Prosecutor's office spokeswoman Shelley Murphy said. She added that a magistrate will review probable cause information in the case Wednesday and formal charges will be filed later this week against Pasztor.
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