Overview
- Police say a passerby walking a dog found a white Hyundai on fire early Friday in a warehouse lot on Richland Hills Drive in San Antonio, where firefighters later discovered a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, who police said was autistic and nonverbal, dead inside.
- Marlene Vidal, 34, identified herself at the scene as the children’s mother and was arrested after investigators cited her statements, surveillance video, and scene evidence indicating she acted alone.
- A judge set Vidal’s bond at $2.1 million on two capital murder counts and one arson charge, and court records show conditions that include GPS monitoring, a no-contact order with minors, and a ban on firearms.
- Authorities have not established a motive, and the medical examiner is still determining the cause and timing of death as police note indications that mental health issues may have played a role.
- Relatives say they repeatedly warned police and Child Protective Services over the past year and again this week about Vidal’s mental health, including a reported erratic encounter at a Walmart, and the state child-welfare agency has opened a review while neighbors build a roadside memorial.