Couple Charged With Torture, Murder Of Children Found In Redding Storage Locker

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Prosecutors have charged a couple with first-degree murder after authorities said severe abuse, torture and neglect caused the death of two young children who were found stuffed in a plastic bin at a rented California storage facility.

Tami Joy Huntsman and her 17-year-old companion were charged Monday after the bodies of the 3-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy were found in the storage unit on Dec. 13, Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo said.

Investigators believe the children died on Nov. 27 while in the care of the 39-year-old Huntsman in a Salinas apartment. Her relationship to the children remained unclear.

Prosecutors also charged the couple with three counts each of torture involving the deprivation of food, shelter and clothing for at least year.

Murder