TULARE COUNTY, Calif. — A Tulare County mother is facing murder charges for killing one of her children and critically injuring a second, 11 years after she tried to kill the same son in Montana.
According to the Tulare County Sheriff's Office they responded to a home on Avenue 184 near Road 208 near Porterville between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Saturday. The caller said that a woman, 45-year-old Sherri Telnas, was acting strangely and had taken her two young boys, ages 7 and 12 to a field across the street from their home.
The caller felt something was wrong, so they went looking for Telnas and discovered the two boys in a full irrigation ditch near a cornfield and were not responsive. The 12-year-old boy, Jackson, died from his injuries. His cause of death has not been released yet. The seven-year-old boy is listed in critical condition and is being treated at Valley Children's Hospital.
On Monday, the Mineral County Montana Sheriffs Office confirmed that in 2008, Telnas was charged with trying to drown Jackson in a river. She told authorities that bad thoughts or "voices in her head" told her to do it.
Sherri Telnas was taken into custody at the scene and now faces murder charges. Family members have created a GoFundme account to help with funeral and medical costs.
