Central California Mom Who Tried To Kill Baby Held In His Death 12 Years Later

PORTERVILLE (AP) -- A woman who was prosecuted in Montana for attempting to drown her 10-month-old son in 2008 has been arrested in California charged with killing the now 12-year-old boy and seriously injuring his 7-year-old brother.

The Tulare County Sheriff's office received a 911 call Saturday to report that 45-year-old Sherri Telnas was acting strangely and had taken her sons to a corn field across from their rural home in Porterville.

Deputies said they found the children unresponsive in a ditch. The older boy died at a hospital. The younger one was in critical condition. No other details were released.

Telnas was sentenced in 2009 to 20 years under the custody of Montana's human services department for trying to drown her then 10-month-old son.

It wasn't clear if Telnas has an attorney.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press.