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KEIZER, Ore. (BFMG) — An Oregon mother of three is being held without bail after authorities say she tried to kill herself and her young children in a running car filled with carbon monoxide, then called 911 to report what she had done.
According to court documents, 32-year-old Chardonnay Marie Benavidez dialed 911 on June 6 and told dispatchers she and her three children had spent about 20 minutes in a car with the exhaust running and that the children were falling in and out of consciousness. First responders arrived at her home and found 2-year-old twin boys and a 4-year-old boy inside the living room, where they were treated before being taken to a hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fire crews helped police ventilate the garage, which officials said contained a dangerous level of carbon monoxide. Inside, they found a vehicle still running and fitted with what investigators described as a makeshift apparatus directing exhaust from the tailpipe into the passenger compartment, according to charging documents. A gun was also recovered from the car.
Investigators said Benavidez later told them she planned to turn the gun on herself if the carbon monoxide killed the children but did not kill her. Prosecutors allege she had researched carbon monoxide for about a week before the incident and told the children they were going to have a “sleepover” in the car with popcorn.
The children were treated at the hospital and released the next day into the care of their father, court records state. The parents reportedly divorced in 2024, and Benavidez previously had sole custody of the children.
The children’s father, Antonio Benavidez, told reporters he was stunned by the allegations and described his ex-wife as a devoted mother before the incident. He said he was initially detained at the hospital after demanding to see his children, and later discovered that belongings from her residence had been removed or donated.
Benavidez was first placed on a psychiatric hold and released on June 7, then taken into custody on three counts of attempted murder and three counts of attempting to commit a Class A felony. At her arraignment, a judge ordered her held without bond.
