Mother Whose Twins Died in Car Ordered to Court Hearing Monday

Beverly Jean Ernst, whose infant twins died after she left them inside a car on a hot day in July, has been ordered to appear in court Monday to be charged with involuntary manslaughter and involuntary child endangerment.

Ernst, 25, of Anaheim, said she will plead innocent. She said she received a summons Friday ordering her to appear in West Orange County Municipal Court.

“I’m very upset,” Ernst said. “It’s hard enough as it is. It seems like they’d realize there isn’t much worse punishment than the hurt I feel now.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade declined to comment Saturday.

Under the California Penal Code, involuntary manslaughter is killing through “gross negligence” or “without due caution.” The sentence for involuntary manslaughter can be two, four, or six years in prison. However, defendants can receive probation, which can include one year in a county jail.

Garden Grove police arrested Ernst on July 20 on suspicion of manslaughter and willful cruelty to children resulting in death after her 3-month-old babies died of apparent heat stroke.

Police say the divorcee left the twins unattended in the back seat of her car for about an hour while she visited a friend inside a store. All car windows but one were closed; one was open about an inch, police said.

Dennis O’Connell, the lawyer representing Ernst, said he believes that the children were in the car for between 15 and 20 minutes.

The Anaheim city attorney’s office has charged Ernst with violating probation stemming from a conviction on an unrelated, prior misdemeanor. A hearing on the probation violation is scheduled for Sept. 3.