Arraignment Put Off for Man Accused of Killing 5 Children

As a 30-year-old man charged with the poisoning deaths of five of his children made his first court appearance Tuesday, Pico Rivera officials planned a community counseling session today to help the city overcome the tragedy.

Adair Javier Garcia, who could face the death penalty if convicted, did not enter a plea Tuesday.

His arraignment was reset for March 19 in Whittier Superior Court.

Garcia appeared puffy-eyed and never looked at the crowd, which overflowed with media but included no family members.

Deputy Public Defender Ruben Marquez objected to the media’s presence, saying that the pretrial publicity may endanger Garcia in jail. However, Commissioner Louis Head allowed it.

Prosecutor Victor Rodriguez said he is unsure if his office will seek the death penalty.

On Feb. 19, Garcia’s mother-in-law arrived early in the morning to care for the younger children and found the two-bedroom home on Washington Boulevard filled with carbon monoxide fumes from a smoldering barbecue grill in the living room.

Garcia, depressed over a failing marriage, had tucked his children into bed and lighted the barbecue grill, which burned for hours, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Don Bear.

Garcia’s wife, Adriana Arreola, had left the house at least a week earlier, Bear said.

Dead were Brenda, 10; Jonathan, 7; and Anthony, 2. Cecilia, 4, died later that day, and Vanessa, 6, died one day later. Kassandra, 9, is expected to make a full recovery.

Garcia, a splicing technician with SBC Pacific Bell in Rosemead, was treated and released from a hospital before he was arrested.

None of the children has been buried, but some mortuaries have offered their services free of charge, said Bob Spencer, the city’s spokesman.

City officials have offered grief counseling to anyone who needs it today at the city’s recreation community room at 6767 Passons Blvd., Spencer said.

The sessions are similar to ones held almost two years ago when four members of another Pico Rivera family were killed.

Richard Flores, 39, and three of his children were stabbed to death in the summer of 2000. Monica Diaz, Flores’ adopted daughter, and her boyfriend, Michael Naranjo, were arrested in those killings and, after many court delays, are scheduled for arraignment on March 7.

“Pico Rivera is the kind of community that if it hits anywhere in the city, it affects everyone,” Spencer said.