Hearing for Children of Murder Suspects Set

The fate of six children, whose parents were arrested on suspicion of killing then burying a 5-year-old sibling in in the Angeles National Forest, will be the subject of a hearing on March 8.

Lisa Mandel, who represents the elder children of Maria Ricardo and Marcos Esquivel, said the dependency court will hear the children’s request that they not be separated for adoption, as their county caseworker has recommended.

The children, who are currently in a foster home, laid out their plight last week to a Times columnist, saying they wanted to register a public protest in advance of their hearing, which was to have been this week.

Chief among their fears was the possibility that the youngest would be adopted separately, because it is hard to find an adoptive home for six siblings. Their story drew widespread reader response, including offers from several families interested in taking in the children.