Mother Charged With Burning 2 Children
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FREEHOLD, N.J. — A mother was charged with incinerating her two children Tuesday in the back seat of her car as it was parked outside her in-laws’ house.
Maria Montalvo, 29, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated arson for the deaths of her 28-month-old son, Rafael Aponte, and 18-month-old daughter, Zonaida Aponte.
Prosecutors said Montalvo had recently fought with her husband and may have been suicidal.
Montalvo bought a container of gasoline as she drove the children from their home to her in-laws’ house, said Robert Honecker, a Monmouth County prosecutor. “The car exploded in flames” after she got out, he said.
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