Mother of Sons Left in Van Was Drinking

A Simi Valley mother accused of causing the deaths of her two young sons last month drank a bottle of wine and fell asleep in her bed as the children sat strapped in a sweltering minivan for four hours, according to court documents.

Marlene Heath, 39, also consumed one or two bottles of wine the night before the toddlers’ Aug. 4 deaths, according to a search warrant affidavit filed last week.

Her husband Philip told police his wife has a drinking problem, the affidavit said. And a blood test taken six hours after her last drink revealed she had a .17 blood alcohol level, more than twice the legal limit for driving.

Heath, who is free on $50,000 bail, is facing two counts of felony child endangerment in the deaths of 3-year-old Jake and 13-month-old Dylan Heath.

Each count carries two special allegations that could result in a 12-year prison sentence for the mother, who has not yet entered pleas.

Defense attorney Louis “Chuck” Samonsky said Friday that his client remains so distraught that he has not been able to discuss the case with her.

“She is so devastated,” Samonsky said. “She’s had a very difficult time dealing with this.”

Samonsky declined to discuss the affidavit. The document was prepared by a Simi Valley detective who interviewed Heath and her husband.

According to the warrant information, the events leading up to the children’s deaths were as follows:

Heath told the detective that on Aug. 3 she went to Trader Joe’s, purchased four bottles of wine and later drank one or two bottles.

The next morning, she rose about 7 a.m. and cooked breakfast for her sons and husband, who works at a Thousand Oaks car dealership. He left about 10 a.m., and she began drinking again, consuming one bottle of wine.

Heath and her sons left for a company picnic with her co-workers from Kinko’s in Ventura about 1 p.m. but turned back. Heath estimated that she pulled into the driveway about 2 p.m.

“She remembers telling Dylan and Jake, ‘Boys, we’re home,’ ” according to the document.

Heath had to go to the bathroom, so she left the boys strapped in their child-safety seats and went in the house. She told investigators that she remembers unlocking the door, but nothing after that.

“She stated she may have had a drink when she came in to go to the bathroom, then crawled into bed and fell asleep,” the affidavit states. “When she woke up at approximately 6:30 p.m., she panicked about where the boys were.”

Heath found the frontdoor open, went outside and found her children dead inside the minivan with the windows rolled up. It was about 90 degrees outside that afternoon.

Heath tried to revive the children, then called her husband at work. One of his co-workers dialed 911.

A coroner’s report said the brothers died of hyperthermia. An investigator determined that at 8:46 p.m., Jake’s body temperature was 101.5 degrees. Dylan’s body temperature was 102 degrees.

During a search of the house, police found three empty Trader Joe’s wine bottles. The detective sought a warrant to search for additional evidence.

Arraignment for Heath is set for Oct. 10.