Inset: Chardonnay Marie Benavidez in court (KATU/YouTube). Background: The home where Oregon mom Chardonnay Marie Benavidez allegedly tried to kill herself and her children (KPTV/YouTube).
An Oregon mom told her three kids they were having a “sleepover” in their car and then tried to kill them all, as well as herself, with carbon monoxide, according to police.
“The defendant told law enforcement that she had been planning this, researching it for about a week,” a prosecutor alleged during Chardonnay Marie Benavidez”s arraignment on Monday in Marion County circuit court, per local Fox affiliate KPTV.
“[Benavidez] landed on this option as one where they would all just fall asleep together,” the prosecutor said about the alleged carbon monoxide poisoning attempt.
Benavidez, 32, is charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder after trying to kill her twin 2-year-old boys and 4-year-old son at their home in Keizer on June 6, according to court documents obtained by Law&Crime.
All three children were targeted in the “same scheme or plan” involving the family car and carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the documents.
“This case came to law enforcement when she called 911 to report that she had put herself and her three children in a vehicle with the exhaust on,” the Marion County prosecutor explained in court Monday.
Benavidez allegedly told her children they were having a “sleepover” in the car before eventually moving them inside after they began showing signs of distress, local ABC affiliate KATU reports. When police officers arrived at the home, they complained of burning eyes and had difficulty breathing while attempting to enter the garage where the vehicle was allegedly parked.
Police say a gun was also found in the car.
“Prior to doing this, there were multiple options she was considering,” the prosecutor said Monday at Benavidez’s arraignment.
Benavidez and her children were all taken to a local hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning treatment. The children were medically cleared and released to their father.
Benavidez was placed on a physician’s hold while at the hospital and seen by psychiatric staff, according to KATU. She was cleared on June 7 and then arrested by Keizer police.
A Marion County judge ordered Benavidez held without bail. She is due back in court on June 17.
