Salinas child murder suspect gets medical care for pregnancy, authorities say

A bombshell development in the deadly Salinas child abuse case. During a phone conversation with a source inside the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, it was confirmed to KION that the woman at the center of the investigation is pregnant.

Tami Huntsman and Gonzalo Curiel are awaiting trial, accused of murdering 3-year-old Delylah and 6-year-old Shaun Tara. They are also accused of abusing the children’s 9-year-old sister.

Now a possible game changer – news that Huntsman is pregnant. There are certain details that aren’t known, like how far along she is or who the father is. Several sources said they cannot confirm or deny the details of her pregnancy because of HIPAA regulations. But we do know the Monterey County Jail is taking extra steps, like making sure she is getting to her medical appointments.

“They get their medical appointments that we transport them to because we don’t have an OB-GYN at the jail. They receive extra meals, extra mattresses, their footwear can be different, and this is true for anyone at the county jail that would be pregnant,” said Cmdr. John Thornburg.

Because Huntsman is accused of murder, she is still being held separately from other inmates.

We did reach out to attorneys on both sides of the case. Prosecutor Steve Somers said he cannot comment on open cases. Huntsman’s attorney, Kay Duffy, said, “At this point, it’s best not to comment on this matter.”

But an outside attorney says for a case like this one, sympathy would be hard to come by.

“Given the allegations in this case, again I don’t know whether they are true, I’m not involved in the case but if they were found to be true, it would seem to be very difficult to use the pregnancy for any real sympathy, given the charges,” Brian Worthington said.

While it is unclear how Huntsman’s pregnancy could impact the case against her, the Monterey County Department of Social Services says when a child is born, if neither parent is willing or able to care for it, the child would be put into protective custody. If there’s no chance of the child and parent being reunited in the future, the department would start looking at long-term placement, whether that’s through adoption or with other family members.

Huntsman and Curiel will be back in court on March 4. Up until this point, Curiel had been held at juvenile hall because he was 17. That changes on Tuesday, his 18th birthday. He will be transferred to the jail and presumably held in a separate cell because he is accused of murder.

ORIGINAL POST:

There’s a new development in the case against two Salinas suspects, accused of murdering two young children and abusing another. Authorities in Monterey County confirm the woman who cared for all three children, is pregnant.

There are certain details we are still investigating, like how far along she is and who the father is. But we know Huntsman and another suspect, Gonzalo Curiel are accused of killing 3-year-old Delylah and 6-year-old Shaun Tara in Salinas, then hiding their bodies inside a storage unit in Redding. Both suspects are also accused of abusing their 9-year-old sister.

Because Huntsman is accused of murder, she is already being held separately from other inmates. That’s a standard practice at the Monterey County Jail. On Monday, KION found out when it comes to medical conditions, like pregnancy, there are extra steps the jail takes.

“Anybody that’s in the jail with prenatal care receives, they get their medical appointments that we transport them to because we don’t have that type of, an OB-GYN at the jail. They receive extra meals, extra mattresses, their footwear can be different, and this is true for anyone at the county jail that would be pregnant,” said Commander John Thornburg.

The Monterey County Department of Social Services said when a child is born, if neither parent is willing or able to care for it, the child would be put into protective custody. If there’s no chance of the child and parent being reunited in the future. The department said it would start looking at long term placement, whether that’s through adoption or other family members.

We reached out to attorneys on both sides of the case. Huntsman’s attorney said “at this point, it’s best not to comment on this matter.”

KION’s Mariana Hicks will have more on this story at 6PM, with an outside attorney who tells explains how a pregnancy could impact a case of this magnitude.