A mother has been arrested after she drowned her 12-year-old son a decade after she first attempted to murder him by submerging him in water, police say.
Sherri Telnas, 45, reportedly drowned her son, Jackson Telnas, in an irrigation ditch in a cornfield in Porterville, California on Saturday.
Telnas allegedly tried to drown her seven-year-old son as well, identified as Jacob Ray Telnas.
Metro reports that both boys were rushed to the hospital where Jackson was pronounced dead and Jacob was listed in critical condition.
Witnesses reported that they saw Telnas walking ‘strangely’ with her children toward the field across from her home.
A neighbor and the boys’ grandmother were trying to revive them when deputies arrived.
This was not the first time Telnas tried to kill her child, according to Local 21.
In 2008, she tried to drown Jackson by walking into a river with him in Mineral County, Montana.
She reportedly told police what she’d done afterwards. She pleaded guilty of criminal endangerment and the boy’s father was given custody of his son.
Although it is unclear why Jackson and Jacob were with their mother on Saturday.
Sherri Telnas’ relatives told ABC News that the 2008 incident caused a rift in the family.
Tim Telnas and Elinor Brown said they are the victims’ uncle and aunt, but have not spoken to them for years.
Brown said: ‘Sherri wasn’t on the best of terms with the rest of the family,’ and added they found out about the first murder attempt through one of Telnas’ former coworkers.
“None of us believed it at first, because we found out through an old co-worker and at first it was like, “Oh yeah that happened ten years ago.”
