TULARE COUNTY, CA (KMJ) – A Strathmore mother is charged with the murder of her child.
District Attorney Tim Ward has announced criminal charges against Sherri Telnas, age 45, for an incident occurring on June 29, 2019, resulting in the drowning death of her 12-year-old son and the injury of her 7-year-old son.
Telnas is charged with one count of murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, one count of attempted murder causing great bodily injury, one count of gassing, and one count of battery on a peace officer.
At her request, she will be arraigned on the charges Wednesday at the Tulare County Pre-Trial facility.
She has been denied bail.
If convicted on all charges, Telnas faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
At around 5:25 a.m. Sunday, Deputies from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office received a call that the boys’ mother was acting suspiciously.
The caller told authorities Telnas had taken her two children to a field across the street.
While deputies were on their way to the 18900 block of Avenue 184 near Porterville they were notified two children were found unresponsive in a full irrigation ditch near a field.
Both boys were taken to the hospital where 12-year-old Jackson died from unknown injuries and 7-year-old Jacob continues to be in critical condition.
The previous incident took place in 2008 in Mineral County, Montana.
Back then, The Mineral Independent reported that the 34-year-old mother allegedly attempted to drown her son Jackson, who was 10-months-old at the time.
According to records, Telnas told officers at the hospital, “I tried to drown my baby.”
Medical reports showed the child had been submerged under water “for an appreciable period of time and had water in his lungs,” seen in an X-ray photograph.
The child had been released into his father’s care, and at the time the father, Jacob Telnas, 25, had full custody of his son.
In 2008, Telnas had been charged with attempted deliberate homicide in Mineral County District Court.
As part of a plea agreement then with the Mineral County Attorney’s Office, Telnas pleaded no contest to two charges of criminal endangerment.
Telnas was taken into custody without incident on Sunday in Tulare County.
An autopsy performed on the 12-year-old determined his cause of death as fresh water drowning.
Jackson Telnas, 12, died from the injuries he sustained. His mother, SherriTelnas was previously incarcerated in Montana in 2008 for attempting to drown him when he was 10-months-old.
Anyone with information on this current case is encouraged to contact the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Unit Det. Miguel Franco or Sergeant Gary Marks at (559) 802-9563 or (800) 808-0488. Anonymous information about this crime can be reported via Tipnow email [email protected], text or voicemail at 559-725-4194, or download the Tipnow app for Android or Apple phones.
