A Northern California mother was arrested in connection with the shooting death of the father of her three children on Tuesday, one day after neighbors found the father's body and alerted authorities that the children may have been abducted.
The discovery of the man's body, found just before 8 a.m. Monday in the backyard of a home in the 1600 block of 16th Street, triggered an Amber Alert for the couple's children, who lived with their father. All three children, ages 12, 6 and 3, were located safe with their mother, 35-year-old Alicia Ortez, in Richmond at about 11:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, Ortez was arrested in connection with the homicide of the children's father, identified Tuesday afternoon by San Jose police as 43-year-old Oscar Anguiano.
Police also said they have Ortez's "male companion" in custody.
Police on Monday said they considered Ortiz, who is the non-custodial, biological mother of the kids, as a suspect in her children's abduction. A neighbor told NBC Bay Area he had heard the couple fighting before the man was shot.
"The children "are safe and in a good place and we're seeking the proper services for them," Palmieri said.
NBC Bay Area's Jean Elle and Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
