The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) is investigating after three children were found dead inside a burned vehicle on Friday, May 15. Officers responded to the scene at 500 Richland Hills Drive, which is near Potranco Road, at around 6 a.m. The identities and relationships between the children are unknown at this time. SAPD has taken in one person for questioning.
During a media briefing, SAPD Assistant Chief Salame said a person had been walking their dog at around 5 a.m. and called 911 to report a vehicle fire in a warehouse parking lot near the address. That person saw a woman at the site, who told the passerby they had already reported the incident to law enforcement.
Fire and police crews soon arrived and put out the flames. Salame said officers discovered “two, but likely three bodies” inside a small, burned car. He declined to note where exactly inside the vehicle they were found, stating that the car is significantly burnt and SAPD is waiting for a medical examiner to assess the scene.
“One of those is preschool, possibly an infant, and the other two are likely school-aged children,” Salame said. “That could change … We’re going kind of based on what we can see and based on the appearance, and obviously it’s a crime scene, and the car is burnt, and so it’s very difficult to tell.”
A 34-year-old woman who was at the crime scene has been taken in for questioning, according to police. She is not from San Antonio, but from an area further south, according to Salame. Authorities do not know what the relationship is between the woman and the children.
“We’re looking into that, possibly her parents or somebody live here,” Salame said.
The woman was taken in for questioning because of statements she made that connected her to the discovered vehicle, authorities say. There are a lot of surveillance cameras near the crime scene, and SAPD says they are going to look into what was captured to try to figure out what happened.
Tape was put up near a house not far from the scene, according to police. Salame said he was unsure as to why, but it looked like there was some personal property there, and they are looking into it.
“The thing that we’re really trying to figure out is … what the relationship is between the woman and the children inside of the car,” Salame said. “I don’t know the relationship yet. She’s just been taken down for questioning, but the tragedy here is that we’ve got three young children that are dead inside of that car.”
Arson investigators are at the site and are working to figure out if the fire began inside or outside of the car. Additional details regarding the vehicle have not been released. SAPD is expected to release more information on the incident at 9:45 a.m.