3 children found dead in Torrance; mom arrested

TORRANCE, Calif. -- Three young children were found dead in an unincorporated area of Torrance Tuesday, and their mother has been arrested.

Sheriff's deputies said they received a rescue call around 5:10 p.m. and responded to the 1000 block of West 223rd Street. When they arrived, they were met by family members who told them that the mother, identified as 30-year-old Carol Coronado, had killed her three daughters, ages 3, 2 and 2 months old.

Neighbors say the children's grandmother made the horrifying discovery after her daughter had called her and said she was going crazy.

"I hear that the mom stabbed three of her kids. It's pretty tragic and pretty brutal," said neighbor Bryan Gonzalez.

According to neighbors, the children were stabbed to death with a kitchen knife. Inside a bedroom, deputies found the three little girls and their mother, who was covered in blood, standing over them. The children were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators say Coronado's husband was also home, but according to neighbors, he was working outside at the time.

Detectives would not confirm how the children were killed, but said several knives were recovered at the scene. It's not yet clear if Coronado tried to hurt herself in the attack. Police are investigating whether drugs or mental illness may have played a role. Authorities say the motive remains under investigation.

Coronado was taken to the hospital to be evaluated.

Anyone with information about this incident was asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.