Jurors charged with determining the guilt of accused child killer Aquelin Talamantes began their deliberations Tuesday.
Deliberations in Yolo Superior Court began about 1:30 p.m., after Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens and Deputy Public Defender Sally Fredericksen made their closing arguments, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Talamantes, 29, has been charged with murder and assault on a child younger than 8 years resulting in death after the Sept. 26 drowning of her daughter, 5-year-old Tatiana Garcia. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The girl died at the Davis home of Talamantes’ oldest sister Elisa Torres. Talamantes and her two young children were staying there temporarily after becoming homeless. After the drowning, Talamantes transported the girl’s body in the trunk of her car to Sacramento, where authorities discovered the child and tried, unsuccessfully, to revive her.
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Couzens argued that Talamantes manipulated and lied to make people believe she was mentally ill and that she blamed her children for ruining her life. Fredericksen argued that the woman’s mental illness is the product of childhood abuse, her mother’s murder and an abusive relationship with the father of her children.
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