Children found dead in Redding storage unit
Two children were found dead in a storage unit in Redding on Monday while authorities were investigating a child abuse case out of Plumas County. Tami Joy Huntsman, 39, and Gonzalo Curiel, 17, both of Quincy, were arrested on Friday on charges of felony child abuse, torture and mayhem, according to a news release issued by the Redding Police Department. The two had recently moved from Salinas. Follow updates via our social media news feed.
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Officers said Salinas PD and Monterey County DA will now be the lead investigators in the case, with RPD/Shasta DA assisting as needed.
— Alayna Shulman (@ashulman_RS) December 17, 2015 -
Updated at 8:54 a.m.
William Bayon, owner of AAA Enterprise Stor-All where the two deceased children were found, said Tami Joy Huntsman rented the storage unit on Friday.
Bayon does not handle the daily activities of the storage center on Tarmac Road in Redding, but instead has two managers who check in customers when they rent a unit.
According to Bayon his manager watched Huntsman unload items on a security feed, but did not see any children.
"They are people from out of town. That's all I know. For all I know, they picked our storage company, because we are off the highway. This is an all time event. Truly shocking that someone would do something like this," Bayon said over the phone.
Bayon said Huntsman rented storage unit 32. -
. @JimSchultz_RS just talked to the Shasta County coroner's office: Autopsies on the two children still being conducted as of 4:30 p.m.
— Alayna Shulman (@ashulman_RS) December 17, 2015 -
Autopsy of two children found dead in Redding storage unit shows they died in Monterey County. https://t.co/eVcjagDW8t
— Ana Ceballos (@ceballosap) December 17, 2015 -
UPDATE 4:37 p.m.
The Plumas Crisis Intervention Resource Center is raising funds to help the 9-year-old girl who was badly abused and is in a Sacramento area hospital.
Donations can be made at any Plumas bank branch, according to officials at the center. Banks already have donation slips made out for those wishing to make donations by cash or check. -
Media circus has arrived @ Salinas City Hall where the case of 2 dead kids found in storage unit will be discussed. pic.twitter.com/fd26L1y94h
— Ana Ceballos (@ceballosap) December 17, 2015 -
Flippo: They will file the special circumstances that make them eligible for death penalty.
— Salinas Californian (@salnews) December 17, 2015 -
McMillin: We did receive 2 anonymous calls. Made contact on one ... did not see any overt signs of abuse.
— Salinas Californian (@salnews) December 17, 2015 -
Police chief: We hope to contact the anonymous callers of those original calls. When people call anonymously, it makes our job difficult.
— Redding.com News Now (@BreakingNews_RS) December 17, 2015 -
Police chief: Takeaway for those who suspect abuse, make yourself available to law enforcement to work with them on what you know.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
DA: Curiel will be charged as an adult.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
DA: At completion of autopsy and what we get from investigation it shows there was ongoing physical abuse.
— Redding.com News Now (@BreakingNews_RS) December 17, 2015 -
DA: We don't have positive ID but we are convinced these are the two children who have been missing. Will be DNA testing that will take time
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
Salinas police chief: The children were found in one container, but where they were transported from, we're still looking into.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
Chief: System didn't fail these kids. Huntsman failed these kids. Curiel failed these kids.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
DA: All three DAs (Shasta, Plumas, Monterey) agree that Monterey is right place to file murder charges.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
DA: As result of the autopsy, it shows that crime originated here in Salinas. We feel comfortable we can prove kids killed in Salinas.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
Monterey County DA keeping death penalty as an option for Tami Huntsman and Gonzalo Curiel, 17, as they face murder charges here in county.
— Ana Ceballos (@ceballosap) December 17, 2015 -
Salinas police chief says the two children found dead in Redding died from the "ongoing physical abuse" which started in Salinas.
— Ana Ceballos (@ceballosap) December 17, 2015 -
News conference has ended in Salinas about the abuse case in which 2 children found dead in Redding.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
A lot of questions surrounding this investigation and how the children came about to be in the custody of Huntsman remain unanswered.
— Ana Ceballos (@ceballosap) December 17, 2015 -
Did I mention the couple accused in this grisly case is facing the death penalty? https://t.co/RE2Ric3S6v pic.twitter.com/cp52p2Kwhq
— Ana Ceballos (@ceballosap) December 18, 2015 -
“This is certainly, in my 32-year law enforcement career, the most egregious child abuse-homicide case I’ve ever seen,” Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin told a crowd of reporters on Thursday, according to the Monterey Weekly News.
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Also in the Monterey County Weekly: “We are all devastated by the nature of the abuse we’ve seen and are committed to bringing those responsible to justice,” Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo said. “But we are going to file the special circumstance to seek the death penalty.”
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According to The Californian: Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo and Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin said that the various relationships between Tami Joy Huntsman, Gonzalo Curiel and the children were not yet clear. However, it does appear that the 9-year-old, 6-year-old, and 3-year-old are nieces and a nephew of Huntsman. It hasn’t been confirmed that the 9-year-old is the sibling of the other two though.
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DA: We're comfortable going forward with murder charges that the two missing children are the ones found dead.
— Carole Ferguson (@C_Ferguson_RS) December 17, 2015 -
McMillin: Actions of one young deputy in Plumas County brought this to light and saved the young girl.
— Salinas Californian (@salnews) December 17, 2015 -
McMillin: One of the worst cases I have seen. It would be in bad taste to go into details as to why it is ... 'It was terrible.'
— Salinas Californian (@salnews) December 17, 2015 -
Salinas couple charged in death of children found in Redding storage unit. Some gruesome details came out w/ charges https://t.co/nDSnadVIQ1
— Salinas Californian (@salnews) December 22, 2015 -
Criminal complaint of Salinas-based deadly child abuse case now attached to story. https://t.co/VQ4cPEfEA6
— Ana Ceballos (@ceballosap) December 21, 2015