Suspect Charged With Murder in Deaths of Girlfriend, Two Children

The boyfriend a 31-year-old woman and their two children was charged Monday with murder on the same day that authorities postponed a search at a Brea landfill for the children's bodies.

Shazer Fernando Limas, 31, is suspected in the deaths of Arlet Hernandez Contreras and their sons, a 2-year- old and 4-month-old.

Limas showed no emotion during his first court appearance, scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday. His defense lawyer was able to postpone an arraignment until May 23.

Limas was charged with three counts of special circumstances murder, which carry sentencing enhancements that make him eligible for the death penalty.

Contreras' body was found at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office after homicide detectives contacted the office to find out if they had any unidentified bodies. County workers found the woman's stabbed body April 25 in La Puente.

Contreras' mother told NBC4 during a phone interview that she did not report her daughter missing because she contiued to receive text message from the victim after police say she was killed.

Prosecutors claimed that child support payments may have been at the heart of the crime. Court records show that Limas was to begin paying Contreras $300 a month.

During a news conference outside the courthouse Monday, Orange County district attorneys said Limas went to the hospital seeking treatment for a cut on his hand in the days following Contreras' death.

He also went shopping at home depot, the surveillance video and receipts from which are being obtained by the prosecution, officials said.

Police continued the search at a Brea landfill Sunday for the bodies of the two children. They were unable to continue searching Monday because no search dogs were available.

Those dogs search 20 to 40 feet at a time in a repetitive process that has them survey an area before a bull dozer shaves off a layer of trash and the dogs return to comb the newly-unearthed area, according to officials.

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The landfill search is expected to resume Tuesday.

Trash from the apartment that Limas and Contreras shared in the 3000 block of W. Chapman Avenue in Orange is transported to the Brea facility. Detectives said last week that blood was found in the apartment.

Limas was arrested Thursday after a pursuit on the 5 Freeway near the San Onofre weigh station.