Woman Arrested for Drowning 12-Year-Old Son Tried to Drown Him as a Baby

A woman who was arrested and charged with trying to drown her infant son 11 years ago now stands accused of drowning the now 12-year-old boy.

First responders found the woman’s 12-year-old son and his seven-year-old brother in an irrigation canal next to a cornfield near Porterville, California. Officials said Jackson Telnas, 12, was dead and his younger brother was in serious condition, according to Fox 8.

Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Sherri Renee Telnas, 45, after receiving a 911 call reporting that the woman was acting strangely and had taken her children to the cornfield.

She has been charged with suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

The Sheriff’s department noted that Telnas had only moved to the area recently and the department had no official contact with the family.

But Telnas has a long history of troubling behavior. She was arrested in 2008 and accused of trying to drown Jackson when he was an infant. Mineral County, Montana, Sheriff Mike Boone reported that Telnas was arrested at the time after telling authorities that “bad thoughts or voices” told her to try to drown the boy.

Telnas ultimately underwent mental health treatment and then was given custody of Jackson in 2010. At the time a court-appointed psychiatrist said he “had no concern about her ability to parent and testified that he sees no risk factors to indicate that she may de-compensate in her emotional wellness.”

She was released from court supervision by Montana authorities in 2016.

The troubled woman later reunited with Jackson’s father and had another child with him.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.