Mother Accused of Killing Her Children Seeks Death Penalty

Marilyn Edge is accused of poisoning her two children and leaving their bodies in a hotel room.

A woman accused of killing her two children and leaving their bodies in a Southern California hotel room asked for the death penalty Tuesday during her first court appearance in connection with the slayings.

Arraignment for Marilyn Kay Edge, of Arizona, was continued to next month. She remained jailed without bail after appearing via video feed from jail for a Tuesday court proceeding.

"Only if you promise me the death penalty," Edge responded twice to the judge after he asked a question about her scheduled arraignment.

Edge did not enter a plea. Her attorney requested the case be continued and for permission to speak with doctors treating Edge.

The 42-year-old Scottsdale, Ariz. woman was arrested Friday after she crashed her car -- police said propane tanks were found in the front seat -- into an electrical box near a Costa Mesa supermarket. Police said she tried to strangle herself with an electrical cord after officers arrived.

The bodies of her son, Jaelen, 13, and daughter, Faith, 10, were found after the crash in a third-floor hotel room at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Santa Ana.

Edge was in a custody dispute with her husband in a Georgia court after the couple divorced in 2007, according to records.

Prosecutors filed two felony counts of special circumstances murder charges against Edge. The special circumstances sentencing enhancements include committing multiple murders and murder by poison.

She faces a sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

More Southern California Stories:

Contact Us