Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed In Drownings Of 3 Kids With Murrieta Ties

RESEDA, CA — The father of three children who authorities said were drowned by their mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles, accusing the city and county of repeatedly failing to intervene to protect the children.

As Murrieta Patch previously reported, Liliana Carrillo last year told a KGET reporter in an interview at the Kern County jail that she drowned her children April 10, 2021, in a Reseda apartment fearing they'd be sexually assaulted.

"I wasn't about to hand my children off to be further abused," she said at the time.

Carrillo said she killed her daughter Sierra, 3-year-old daughter Joanna and 2-year-old son Terry "softly," telling the reporter, "I hugged them and I kissed them ... and I was apologizing the whole time. I promised I would protect them."

Court records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register showed Carrillo suffered from postpartum depression, paranoia and delusions after she failed to take prescribed medications.

Among her alleged delusions was that a child sex-trafficking ring operated in Denton’s hometown of Porterville and that she caused the coronavirus pandemic, the Times reported. The children lived in Murrieta with Denton and Carrillo from September 2018 through March 2019, before moving to Porterville. The family lived in the San Joaquin Valley city until Feb. 25, 2021, after which Carrillo and the children moved to Reseda.

Carrillo reportedly believed the pedophile ring targeted her children.

“I don’t know when I became a target, but I know that Porterville is the root of all evil right now,” Carrillo reportedly wrote in a message to a judge. “I am removing myself and my children from this world because nothing will ever be the same. There is no going back from here.”

She has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in their children's deaths.

On Thursday, attorneys for Erik Denton, the father of the three children, announced he filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and county, saying authorities ignored his please for help in the months leading up to the drownings.

“The murders of Erik’s three children would have been prevented if law enforcement officers and child welfare workers did what they were required to do by law, which is to step in and protect children who are at risk of abuse or neglect,” said David S. Casey, Jr., managing partner at CaseyGerry, said in a statement.

Denton, his attorney said, saw Carrillo's mental state deteriorate in the months leading up to the killings. But, Casey said, "time after time after time they failed to act."

"No parent should ever have to go through what Erik has experienced and the City and County of L.A. must be held accountable for their conduct," Casey said.

In a news release, attorneys said Carrillo began showing signs of a psychotic episode in late February 2021 — including delusions and paranoia — prompting her to take the children to Los Angeles. Concerned for his children’s safety, Denton requested and received an emergency custody order in Tulare County on March 4, 2021.

But Carrillo, his attorney said, refused to reveal her location with the children, and made it difficult for Denton to serve her with the custody order for nearly two weeks.

Throughout the month of March, Denton and his cousin, who is an emergency doctor, repeatedly asked the city and county of Los Angeles to intervene, Casey said. The cousin called police multiple times and said Carrillo was mentally unstable and a danger to their children, the attorney said. Denton and his cousin also met with LAPD officers at least twice and pleaded for help, saying Carrillo was experiencing a psychotic episode and might kill their children, the attorney said.

Furthermore, Denton and his cousin repeatedly asked the county's Child Protective Services for help by calling a child abuse hotline and directly contacting the social worker for the case.

Denton's attorney said public entities are required to intervene in such cases by investigating, reporting and cross-reporting with other agencies so that all pertinent information is available to protect children. But none of this happened in Denton's case, his attorney alleged, and his children were killed as a result.

Denton seeks damages for wrongful death and for his children's pain and suffering.