Two Arrested As Suspects In Storage Locker Deaths Of Children

(Images via Redding Police)

REDDING-Two people who recently moved from Salinas to Quincy, a community in Plumas County, allegedly abused a girl and are suspects in the deaths of two other children found in a Redding storage unit last week, Redding police said Tuesday.

Tami Joy Huntsman, 39, and Gonzalo Curiel, 17, were arrested Friday on suspicion of felony child abuse, torture and mayhem, police said.

They allegedly injured a 9-year-old girl found at an apartment at 2110 E. Main St. in Quincy, where Plumas County sheriff’s deputies found her during a welfare check requested by Child Protective Services around 3 p.m. Friday, sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Peay said. The girl has been placed into protective custody and was transported to a Sacramento-area hospital for treatment, but investigators have not disclosed the extent of her injuries, police said.

Huntsman and Curiel were arrested as a result of the Plumas County sheriff’s investigation, which revealed there might be two dead children inside a commercial storage unit about 150 miles away in Redding, a city in Shasta County, according to Peay.

Redding police officers found the bodies of two children in a rented storage unit at AAA Enterprise Stor-All at 2887 Tarmac Road, police said. The two children have not been named and an autopsy is pending, according to police.

On Sunday, police started a homicide investigation into the deaths and identified Huntsman and Curiel as suspects.

In working with Salinas police, Redding police learned that the suspects had physical custody of two children who were reported missing, but it’s not yet clear if they are the same people found inside the storage unit, police said.

The missing children were identified as Delylah Tara, 3, and Shaun Tara, 6, police said.

Huntsman and Curiel traveled between Salinas, Redding, Shingletown, an unincorporated community in Shasta County, and Quincy between Nov. 27 and Friday, police said. The suspects on Nov. 28 also stayed at a Motel 6 in Dunnigan, a community in Yolo County about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento, according to police.

Photos of the suspects and the car the suspects used have been released to the public.

Anyone who has information that can help in the case is asked to contact Redding police. Their phone number is (530) 225-4200.

The suspects made their initial appearance in Plumas County Superior Court on Tuesday and their arraignment was continued to Jan. 7, court executive officer Deborah Norrie said.

They remain in custody on $1 million bail each, Norrie said.

-Bay City News Service