A Texas mom has been charged with capital murder after her two young children were found dead inside a car that had been set on fire, according to authorities.
San Antonio police discovered the kids – believed to be 5 and 7 – after a person walking their dog around 5 a.m. Friday called 911 to report a vehicle on fire in a parking lot behind a warehouse.
That witness later identified the children’s mother, Marlene Vidal, as being near the white Hyundai as it was engulfed in flames, authorities said during a news conference Friday.
Vidal, 34, later told cops that she was the mother of the two deceased children — and “that she was the one that we would be looking for,” said San Antonio Police Assistant Chief Jesse Salame.
“At this stage of the investigation, we have statements made by the suspect, along with surveillance video and evidence from the scene that indicate she was solely responsible for the death of these two children,” Salame continued.
The children’s bodies were pending positive identifications from the Bexar County Medical Examiner, but they were believed to be 5 and 7 years old, according to Salame, who couldn’t provide the victims’ genders or a definitive motive for the heinous crime.
“However, there are indications that mental health issues may have played a role,” he said.
“Everyone’s going to want to know why something like this happened, and unfortunately, the why is sometimes the hardest question to answer,” Salame lamented.
The assistant chief said investigators were looking to speak with the children’s father and other family members in order to help establish the motive.
Authorities weren’t releasing information Friday about how the fire was started or where the children were positioned inside the car, as the investigation remained ongoing.
Before police were able to get inside the vehicle, Salame incorrectly told reporters around 7 a.m. that three children – including “possibly an infant” – were believed to be inside the burnt car.
That was before members of the San Antonio Fire Department helped cops take the car apart, making it easier for investigators to get inside, Salame later explained.
“These cases are incredibly difficult, and no matter how long you’ve been doing the job, scenes involving children are never easy,” he said. “The emotional toll is significant, not only for the first responders and investigators, but for our entire community, and I know our community’s going to be hurting right now.”
Vidal – who is from Edinburg, a city about 230 miles north of San Antonio – was arrested and charged with capital murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole or the death penalty in Texas. A date for her arraignment had not been set as of Friday afternoon.
One of her deceased children attended pre-K last year at Vanguard Academy, a charter school in Edinburg, the school confirmed to the San Antonio Express-News.
IDEA Public Schools also told the outlet that Vidal’s children were registered to attend school in the district for the 2025-’26 school year, but declined to say how many of her children were enrolled or which grades they’d be in.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services was reportedly investigating the case, but wouldn’t provide details about any prior interactions with Vidal or her children until their probe concluded.
