Davis Woman Found Guilty Of Killing Her Daughter

WOODLAND (CBS13) – Aquelin Talamantes, the Davis mother charged with drowning her 5-year-old daughter, has been found guilty of first degree murder.

The verdict was handed down by a Yolo County Superior Court jury Friday morning.

During weeks of testimony in the courtroom, prosecutors described her as a cold-blooded killer hooked on prescription drugs who hated being a mother to the point of murdering one of her two children.

Investigators said she drowned Tatiana Garcia at her home in Davis last September.

Police said later that day they found the child in Talamantes' trunk in the Pocket area of Sacramento.

Talamantes' defense attorney argued that her client is not a heartless mother, but someone suffering from mental illness. There is also documentation showing Talamantes had made several visits to a mental health facility prior to the murder.

FOLLOW: Developments in the Talamantes Case

Her attorney also tried to explain Talamantes' use of prescriptions drugs, saying she suffers from severe pain in her wrist from a work-related injury.

But the prosecutor still called Talamantes a professional victim who tried to manipulate mental-health professionals to get prescription painkillers.

Jury deliberations began on Tuesday. The sanity phase of Talamantes' trial begins early Friday afternoon.

Previous reporting from Ron Jones contributed to this report.