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Manzanola Mom Suspected Of Stabbing Girls Before Crash Into River Arrested

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a woman suspected of stabbing her young daughters before plunging her car into a river in southeast Colorado with the children inside. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says 33-year-old Christine Martinez was arrested Tuesday on charges of attempted murder, assault, child abuse and arson.

Christine Martinez
(credit: Otero County)

Otero County sheriff's investigators say she's suspected of stabbing her 8-year-old and 10-year-old daughters at their home in Manzanola on March 31 before leaving them in the vehicle. She's accused of then driving into the Arkansas River.

A passerby reported the crash, and emergency responders rescued the two girls. Martinez was found outside the vehicle.

A woman who answered the phone at the Otero County jail declined to say if booking documents list an attorney for Martinez.

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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