Casa Grande mom pleads not guilty in child-death case

Associated Press

January 15, 2014

A Casa Grande mother accused of killing a daughter and of trying to poison her three other children remains jailed without bond after pleading not guilty.

Authorities say 35-year-old Connie Villa entered her plea when she was arraigned Friday in Pinal County Superior Court. Villa remains in the county jail in Florence.

Villa is charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of her 13-year-old daughter and four counts of attempted murder of her three younger children and of her ex-husband.

On Christmas day, authorities say Villa attacked and stabbed her ex-husband, poisoned her daughter, and attempted to kill her three other children and herself. Authorities say Villa was concerned that her ex-husband would get custody of all of her kids.

Casa Grande mom suffocated daughter with her hands, police say

By Brittany Elena Morris - The Arizona Republic

December 31, 2013

Authorities suspect a Casa Grande mother, fearful that her ex-husband was going to take her four children, suffocated her 13-year-old daughter with her bare hands.

Connie Villa, 35, faces murder and attempted murder charges after she was suspected of smothering her eldest daughter and tried to kill her three youngest children, ages 3, 5, and 8, by forcing them to take prescription narcotic drugs on Christmas Day, she told police detectives in a interview according to the Casa Grande Police Department on Tuesday.

Villa forced her three youngest children to ingest the undisclosed amount of drugs at their apartment before she honed in on her eldest daughter, Aniarael Macias, police said.

When Macias refused to take them, Villa told police she suffocated her daughter to death with her bare hands in their bathroom.

After Villa lured her ex-husband, Adam Villa, to the apartment, she stabbed him repeatedly in the upper torso, according to Officer Thomas Anderson, a Casa Grande Police Department spokesman. Adam Villa, who is the biological father of her three youngest children, escaped and called 911 while driving to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center.

Responding officers had to force their way into the home, where they found Villa with apparent stab wounds to her upper torso, Anderson said. She was holding a knife to her chest and had the three younger children at her side.

Police took Villa and the three children to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix for treatment and discovered Macias’ body in the bathroom, Anderson said.

Villa told detectives she wanted to prevent her ex-husband from getting custody of the four children, police said.

The type of the drugs Villa used have not been released. Authorities are awaiting the toxicology reports for Macias and the three younger children, Anderson said. The results could take up to three weeks.

Villa was arrested Sunday morning after she was released from the medical center where she was being treated. She remains in custody at the Pinal County Adult Detention Facility.

The County Attorney’s Office said in a news release Monday prosecutors are “prepared to file the necessary documents and present evidence necessary for the court to hold Villa in custody until the investigation is complete and formal charges are filed.”

Villa faces charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing of her ex-husband and the drug poisoning of her three surviving children, ages 3, 5 and 8.

Casa Grande woman arrested in death of 13-year-old daughter

By Jackee Coe - Azcentral.com

Mon Dec 30, 2013

A Casa Grande woman who faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of her 13-year-old daughter also tried to kill her three younger children and ex-husband in a Christmas Day rampage, according to police.

Connie Villa, 35, was arrested Sunday morning after she was released from Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, where she was being treated for what police believe were self-inflicted stab wounds, according to Officer Thomas Anderson, a Casa Grande Police Department spokesman.

Her 13-year-old daughter, Aniarael Macias, was found dead in the bathroom of the family’s apartment on Wednesday night after 33-year-old Adam Villa called 911 to report he had been stabbed and was driving to the hospital, Anderson said.

Investigators determined Connie Villa tried to kill the three other children, ages 3, 5 and 8, by forcing them to take prescription narcotics, Anderson said.

She then lured ex-husband Adam Villa, who is the biological father of the three younger children, to the apartment and stabbed him repeatedly in the upper torso, Anderson said. He escaped and called 911 while driving to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center.

Responding officers had to force their way into the home, where they found Connie Villa with apparent stab wounds to her upper torso, Anderson said. She was holding a knife to her chest and had the three younger children at her side.

Police detained Connie Villa and discovered Macias’ body in the bathroom while securing the scene, Anderson said.

The teenager did not have any apparent injuries, and the cause of her death was not immediately known, he said.

An autopsy conducted Saturday by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office didn’t identify a cause of death.

Authorities are awaiting the toxicology reports for Macias and the three younger children, Anderson said. The results could take up to three weeks.

The three children also were taken to the hospital for evaluation, where initial tests found they had trace amounts of opiates in their system. All three are in good condition and have been placed with their father’s family.

A statement on behalf of Macias’ father, Michael, said: “We request that the focus of this tragedy be a celebration of our precious Ania’s life. She was a gentle, kind and beautiful spirit who was taken from us much too soon. Michael and his family are heartbroken. Ania was always smiling. She loved her brothers and sisters.”

Though the autopsy found no cause of death for Macias, investigators believe that the evidence at the scene, interviews and medical information of the surviving children show Connie Villa was trying to kill all of her children and her ex-husband.

Connie Villa was booked on one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder, Anderson said, adding that she could face additional charges.

Aniarael Macias update: Connie Villa poisoned family in attempt to kill them, police say

Abc15.com

December 29, 2013

CASA GRANDE, AZ - A Casa Grande mother is accused of murdering her 13-year-old daughter, attempting to poison her three children and stab her ex-husband on Christmas Day, authorities said Sunday.

Authorities arrested Connie Villa, 35, and said she faces one count of first degree murder and four counts of attempted murder after she forced her children -- ages 3, 5, 8 and 13 years old -- to take "prescription narcotic drugs in an attempt to kill them" on Christmas Day.

Aniarael Macias, 13, was found dead in the bathroom of her family's home in Casa Grande last Wednesday, according to police.

Authorities were called to a home at the Colony Apartments in Casa Grande on Christmas night after the woman's ex-husband, 33-year-old Adam Villa, called police and said that he had been stabbed by his ex-wife.

He told police he was driving himself to the Casa Grande Regional Medical Center.

Officers forced themselves into the mother's apartment and found her holding a knife to her chest and suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to a police press release. The woman's three other children were standing unharmed at her side.

Authorities secured the scene and transported both the mother and children to Phoenix-area hospitals. The three children each had "trace amounts" of opiates in their systems, according to a press release.

Casa Grande police on Sunday afternoon said the children were in "good condition" and Child Protective Services placed them with the family of Adam Villa.

Adam Villa is in stable condition at a Phoenix hospital.

On Sunday afternoon, Aniarael's family issued the following statement:

On behalf of Michael Macias, Ania’s father, Vera Macias, Ania’s grandmother and extended family, we request that the focus of this tragedy be a celebration of our precious Ania’s life. She was a gentle, kind and beautiful spirit who was taken from us much too soon. Michael and his family are heartbroken. Ania was always smiling. She loved her brothers and sisters. She enjoyed spending time with her father and sister Gaby. We are writing this statement in hopes that the media and other outlets will allow Michael and our family to grieve peacefully. We thank everyone for the outpouring of support for our family. We appreciate your prayers and positive thoughts. We pray that justice will be served.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.

An autopsy was conducted by Pima County, but it did not identify an official cause of death. Results for a toxicology report on Macias and the other three children could take two to three weeks.

Casa Grande woman tells police motive in alleged poisoning of kids

MyFoxPhoenix.com

December 28, 2013

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) - An Arizona woman tried to fatally stab her ex-husband and poison her four children with prescription narcotic drugs, including a teenage daughter who was found dead in her home on Christmas Day, police said Monday.

She lured the man to her apartment and stabbed him repeatedly before he was able to flee and drive himself to a hospital while calling 911.

Connie Villa, 35, was arrested Sunday after being released from a hospital on suspicion of one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder in the Christmas Day attack in Casa Grande, about 50 miles south of Phoenix.

It was not immediately known whether she had an attorney.

Casa Grande police say Connie Villa admitted to trying to kill her children by forcing them to take prescription narcotic drugs, but that she wasn't successful in forcing her daughter, Aniarael Macias, to take them.

The types of drugs used haven't been specified; police are waiting for toxicology results to release their names.

When force feeding her drugs wouldn't work, Connie Villa allegedly admitted to forcefully suffocating Aniarael to death with her bare hands.

Her admission comes after Casa Grande police Officer Thomas Anderson said the body had no visible signs of injury or trauma, and an autopsy report was inconclusive on the cause of death.

Police say Connie Villa told them she wanted to kill her children because she didn't want her ex-husband, Adam Villa, to have custody of them.

According to authorities, Adam Villa called 911 after fleeing the apartment with multiple stab wounds.He remained hospitalized Monday in stable condition. Responding officers found the body of Aniarael Macias, 13, lying on a bathroom floor, said Anderson.

The three other children, ages 3, 5 and 8, were in good condition. Anderson said initial tests show each child had trace amounts of opiates in their systems.

Upon arriving at the home Wednesday, police were forced to break in and found Connie Villa standing in the apartment with what appeared to be self-inflicted stab wounds to her torso, a knife in her hand and the three young children at her side.

The 13-year-old was found dead during a search of the home.

Connie Villa had apparently enticed her ex-husband to come by intending to kill him, too, Anderson said.

"He was lured to the apartment, under what pretense we don't know yet, but we don't have any indication he had any fear of going over there," Anderson added.

The three surviving children have been placed by Child Protective Service's with Adam Villa's family. He was not the father of the 13-year-old, police said.

"She was a gentle, kind and beautiful spirit who was taken from us too soon," family members of Aniarael Macias said in a statement.

In 2006, happier times seemed apparent in the Villa household as Adam Villa returned from a one-year deployment to Iraq with the Arizona Army National Guard.

When he stepped off the plane upon his return, Connie Villa broke into tears.

"Just to know he's safe and in one piece, just to smell him," she told an Arizona newspaper at the time. "I just want to be normal again and have a family."

AP researcher Barbara Sambriski contributed to this report.

Child found dead in Casa Grande apartment on Christmas

By Mike Gertzman - Azfamily.com

December 27, 2013

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. -- Police are investigating the death of a 13-year-old female child whose body was found in the bathroom of her family's apartment on Christmas Day, according to Thomas Anderson with the Casa Grande Police Department.

Casa Grande police officers found the girl after they responded to a 911 call reporting a domestic dispute at the Colony Apartments on East Doan Street.

The caller, a 33-year-old male identified as Adam Villa, said his wife stabbed him and he was driving himself to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center.

Officers found his 35-year-old wife, Connie Villa, inside the apartment.

Initially, three of her children, ages 3, 5 and 8, were found in the apartment with her.

During the investigation, police discovered a fourth child, identified as Aniarael Macias, deceased in the bathroom.

The initial investigation revealed that Connie Villa had also been stabbed. She and her husband were both flown to separate Phoenix area hospitals for treatment.

The three surviving children were transported to a Phoenix area hospital for evaluation. They reportedly were not harmed.

The cause of death of the 13-year-old girl is unknown at this time and police are awaiting an autopsy.

Police said they do not know yet what led up to the domestic dispute.

This investigation is ongoing and criminal charges are pending the outcome of the investigation and autopsy.

Neighbors said they were shocked by the news. They said the Villas moved in a few months ago and seemed like a nice family.

Neighbors also said they did not hear any sounds coming from the apartment Christmas night, but they did hear ambulances and fire trucks around 9 p.m.

"We didn't know what was going on," one neighbor said. "We thought maybe a Christmas tree caught on fire or something like that."