A Durango woman suspected of trying to kill herself and her two children has been formally charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse.
A preliminary hearing for Grisel Xahuentitla-Flores was postponed Thursday for one month.
Xahuentitla-Flores, 29, is suspected of sealing her house, turning on the gas stove and putting her children, ages 3 and 9, to bed in hopes that she and the children would suffocate overnight.
The incident occurred the night of July 28 in the east 200 block of 14th Street, near Ben’s Big Burgers.
Someone walking past the house the next morning reported a strong odor of gas emanating from the home. The person observed towels wedged under the doors and the windows shut. Authorities came to the house, where Xahuentitla-Flores and the children were found to be OK. She at first denied turning on the gas but later admitted to it, according to police reports.
Xahuentitla-Flores said her husband had been arrested two days earlier for domestic violence, and she wasn’t sure how to provide for her family. She said her husband was the main provider for the family, she recently lost her job and her daughters were always hungry.
According to court records, her husband, Mauro Zacamolpa, was arrested July 22 on suspicion of misdemeanor assault. The two apparently had a brief argument in the bedroom. Xahuentitla-Flores was upset about something and was trying to talk to him, but he wouldn’t look at her, according to an arrest affidavit.
She slapped his upper arm to get his attention, and he grabbed the front of her neck with one hand and said, “You (expletive, expletive). You never touch me again. He covered her mouth when she began to cry and squeezed her face with his fingers.
The squeeze caused her “extreme pain” inside her mouth, scratched her upper right cheek and caused swelling of the upper right cheek, according to the affidavit.
She withdrew the remaining $140 from her bank account and took her children to Farmington for a movie, ice cream and to play in the park. On the way home, she picked up NyQuil to help herself and her children sleep through the night.
Xahuentitla-Flores was arrested and booked into the La Plata County jail, where she is being held without bail. Her children were turned over to the Colorado Department of Human Services.
District Attorney Todd Risberg said his office has a duty to protect children from abuse, and part of that may include forcing someone to get help, and sometimes the only avenue for doing that is through the criminal justice system.
“If we don’t charge her, nothing happens,” he said. “If we think somebody needs to get help, we have a system to make that happen, and that’s what we’re doing.
“It could have turned out much differently.”
Xahuentitla-Flores faces eight to 24 years in prison if found guilty of attempted first-degree murder.
Her next court date is set for Oct. 17.
shane@durangoherald.com
