LOS ANGELES – A woman accused of kidnapping and abandoning her slain half-sister's children pleaded no contest on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Brittney Sue Humphrey was accused of kidnapping Kimberly Harvill's three children – ages 5, 3, and 2 - then abandoning them in a New Mexico motel room.

Humphrey's boyfriend, Joshua Robertson, 27, and Alex Valdez, 29, are charged with murdering Harvill, whose body was discovered in a remote area of Gorman on Aug. 14, 2016. The Los Angeles DA's office said in a statement that the two men face a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, making them eligible for the death penalty. The office has not yet made a decision about whether they will seek the death penalty.

The day after the children were found safe in the motel room, Humphrey and Robertson were arrested in Colorado.

Before their mother's death, the children's father died by lying in front of a train, according to the Fresno County coroner.

Before her death, Harvill and her children lived in Fresno and were transitory, moving from motel to motel, sheriff's Capt. Steve Katz said, adding that they depended on panhandling to survive.

Harvill was involved with methamphetamine, as were Humphrey and Robertson, Katz said.