Agency had just visited mother

By Michelle Mondo and Eva Ruth Moravec
- Express-News

A Child Protective Services caseworker visited the home of Elyse Marsyl Colon the day before her two young sons were stabbed to death and had found nothing amiss.

It was a routine visit that began with Colon hugging the caseworker, welcoming her into her North Side home and thanking her for being there, said Mary Walker, a CPS spokeswoman.

“Nothing,” Walker said. “There was absolutely nothing that would indicate that this mother would go out and hurt her children.”

It made hearing the news of the double homicide all the more shocking, Walker said.

Authorities said Colon, 22, stabbed her boys to death Tuesday, then stood outside her home in the 100 block of Weizmann Street and met police by holding out her hands and saying, “I killed my babies.”

Inside the patrol car, Colon said, “Their father is in jail. I want him to know.”

Colon remained Wed- nesday in Bexar County Jail on two counts of capital murder in the deaths of her children, Guillermo Garcia, 19 months, and Jose Luis Garcia, 3. Her bonds totaled $2 million.

Bexar County spokeswoman Linda Tomasini said the children's father, Luis A. Garcia-Pacheco, found out about the slayings around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.

A clergyman and a nun told him about the deaths, which the Bexar County medical examiner's office said were caused by “multiple sharp force injuries.”

He was “very distraught and emotional,” Tomasini said.

A longtime family friend of Colon said other relatives also were in shock. Attempts to reach the family weren't successful Wednesday. Relatives did not return calls, nor did anyone answer the door at Colon's mother's house.

Martha Arkeen, 82, said she spoke with Colon's aunt Wednesday morning.

“They don't know what happened to Elyse, they thought she had just snapped,” said Arkeen, who has known Colon's mother since childhood. “But I don't know what could have caused her to murder those sweet little children.”

The slayings also moved some San Antonio residents to respond by visiting the fenced rental property.

Birdie Zuniga, 47, and her son, Tom Cruz Zuniga, 22, brought three teddy bears as a tribute to the boys, whom they never met. Wearing hoods to protect them from the noon downpour, they waded through the rain's runoff, walked to a tree, set down the bears and prayed.

Birdie Zuniga cried as she walked away.

The three bears, wrapped in plastic to protect them from rain, later were moved to a fence closer to the home. There was no other indication of what had happened inside the powder-blue home that sits behind another house.

Police Chief William McManus said it wasn't a bloody scene when officers arrived Tuesday afternoon, responding to a reported cutting.

Colon was nonchalant as one officer placed her in handcuffs while the other kicked in the home's locked front door, police said.

Once inside, police discovered the two boys lying on the bed, shoulder to shoulder, McManus said.

Authorities said the parent's history was fraught with domestic violence.

In 2009, police were called to the house nine times, records showed. On two of those occasions, May 23 and Sept. 30, Garcia-Pacheco was arrested on a family violence charge.

It was because of the family violence that CPS began working with Colon in May, after someone — whose name wasn't disclosed — called the agency, Walker said.

She said Colon admitted to a history of violence between her and the boys' father.

“The children were not hurt but (the investigation) did find they were physically neglected because they were in the middle of all this,” Walker said.

She said the case was transferred in August to the Family Safety Services division, which provides services to strengthen families and “give the mom the tools to keep the kids protected.”

The May referral was the third the agency had received in as many years, Walker said. The others were for allegations of drug abuse, but Colon and her sons all tested negative for any illegal drug use, according to Walker.

The boys' father has been jailed since his September arrest. Authorities said at that time Garcia-Pacheco also was charged with entering the country illegally and was placed on a federal detainer.

In October, Colon applied for a protective order for herself and her two sons. The order was agreed upon on Nov. 5 to last for two years, according to court documents.

She was working at keeping her family together and also was trying to find a job, Walker said.

“We're still reviewing the case because we want to make sure we did solid casework,” she said. “It appears preliminarily that we did all we could do to keep something like this from happening.”

Arkeen said Colon just didn't seem capable of the crime she told police she committed.

“Elyse was always so sweet, soft-spoken and quiet,” she said, adding she seemed like a good mother. “I just don't understand how this could happen. Those poor little innocent angels.”

From: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/83446617.html