Adair Javier Garcia

Case record: Adair Javier Garcia

Timeline

• February 19, 2002 — Adair Javier Garcia killed five of his children in their living room in Pico Rivera by lighting a charcoal grill inside the home and filling it with deadly carbon monoxide fumes.
• February 26, 2002 — Adair Javier Garcia appeared for his arraignment in a Whittier, Calif. courtroom in a file photo.
• March 29, 2005 — A jury found Adair Javier Garcia guilty of five counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
• April 18, 2005 — A jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole at the penalty phase.
• June 8, 2005 — Adair Javier Garcia was ordered to spend the remainder of his life in prison.

Background

Adair Javier Garcia was a 30-year-old father at the time of the February 19, 2002 murders. He was a Pico Rivera father whose wife, Adriana Ibeth Arreola, had separated from him a short time before the murders and had been living at another location for about a week because of recent domestic discord.

Garcia and his then 9-year-old daughter survived the incident and were hospitalized.

A psychiatric examination described Garcia as suffering from depression and having delusions that he and his family could fly to Peter Pan’s Neverland. Prosecutors disputed that contention, arguing that his actions showed premeditation.

The offence

Five of Garcia’s children were killed as they slept in the family home in Pico Rivera. The deaths were caused by asphyxiation from carbon monoxide fumes generated by a charcoal grill that Garcia left burning inside the living room. Garcia closed all the doors and windows.

The sixth child and Garcia himself also survived. The sixth child was a 9-year-old girl who remained hospitalized.

Found dead at the scene were Brenda, 10, Jonathan, 6, and Anthony, 2. Cecelia, 4, and Vanessa, 6 died later at a hospital.

Garcia and the children stayed at the family home. Before the children went to bed the night they died, Garcia tape recorded each child telling their mother what they did that day. He then taped a separate message to his estranged wife.

Prosecutors said Garcia sought revenge against his wife who had recently left him and wanted to kill himself and his six children.

During the trial, prosecutors described that police initially thought the charcoal grill was used to heat the house, but became suspicious when several working space heaters were found in the home.

Investigation and discovery

Paramedics were called to a neatly kept two-bedroom home in Pico Rivera after smoke came out of the house. The children’s grandmother, who had come to baby-sit, saw the smoke.

When Adriana Ibeth Arreola arrived at the scene, deputies had to restrain her.

The coroner’s office said the children’s deaths were caused by asphyxiation from carbon monoxide.

Police initially thought the grill was used to heat the house, but investigators became suspicious after they found several working space heaters in the home.

Trial

Charges and verdicts

A jury found Adair Javier Garcia guilty of five counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

The jury found true special circumstances tied to the murder charges: multiple murder, murder by poisoning, and lying in wait. Those findings made Garcia eligible for the death penalty.

The jury also determined that the surviving child suffered great bodily injury.

Prosecution evidence and statements

Prosecutors presented a video of Garcia saying goodbye to his wife. Garcia told the video camera:

"I love you. I'm of sound mind and I know what I'm doing," Garcia said to the video camera. "I just want to let you know this is the only option available. You've broken me. You don't care, so I don't care. ... What I'm about to commit is the most cowardly, selfish act possible."

Prosecutors said Garcia had the children say goodbye to their mother in another taped segment.

Deputy District Attorney Victor Rodriguez asked of the jurors:

"Do you know that 95 percent of what he says to his wife (on the tape) is about what she's done to him?"

Defence evidence and argument

A psychiatrist, who examined Garcia and testified for the defense, said the defendant suffered from depression and had delusions that he and his family could fly to Peter Pan's Neverland.

Defense attorney Jill Thomas described her client as a "man overwhelmed" and argued that Garcia could not have committed premeditated murder.

Sentencing

After the jury’s March 29, 2005 conviction, the District Attorney’s office sought the death penalty.

A penalty phase occurred, and the jury on April 18 recommended a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On June 8, 2005, Deputy District Attorney Victor Rodriquez said Adair Javier Garcia’s sentence—recommended by a jury in April—was imposed by Norwalk Superior Court Judge John A. Torribio.

Outcome

Adair Javier Garcia was sentenced to life in prison on June 8, 2005.

The jury had convicted Garcia of five counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, and had found true special circumstances of multiple murder, murder by poison, and lying in wait, and had determined great bodily injury to the surviving child.

Other details

Adair Javier Garcia was also described in the reporting as being 33, and at sentencing as being 34 years old.