WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) — A man accused of killing five of his children through asphyxiation by lighting a charcoal grill inside the family's home pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges.
Adair Javier Garcia's attorney, Patricia Mulligan, entered the plea Tuesday in Whittier Superior Court.
Garcia, 30, remains in custody without bail on murder charges that make him eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors will not decide whether to pursue a death sentence until after an April 15 preliminary hearing.
The telephone company technician was charged with murdering five of his children and attempting to murder another on Feb. 19 by using the grill to fill his home in Pico Rivera, about 10 miles southeast of Los Angeles, with carbon monoxide while they slept.