The criminal complaint filed on Monday against Huntsman and Curiel says the pair maliciously tortured and abused the 9-year-old girl over the course of a year, according to a Record Searchlight report. So far, no murder charges have been filed and it’s unclear where exactly the children were killed.
In the past six months, Salinas police say two anonymous calls were made reporting child abuse at the couple’s East Salinas house near the corner of Fremont Street and Madeira Avenue. Officers responded both times, Salinas police Chief Kelly McMillin says. He would not comment further due to the ongoing investigation.
“We have a lot of detectives doing a lot of work and we are trying to prioritize our work,” McMillin says. “We have more questions than answers at this moment.”
The children’s mother died in a car accident and their father is incarcerated, one official confirmed. Their father had made arrangements for Huntsman to care for his three children while he was serving his sentence.
It’s not known exactly when the children moved in with Huntsman—neighbors recall it being over a year ago—but four complaints had been lodged with the County Department of Social Services over the past year.
