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Indiana mom admits horrific killing of her 2 kids, cops say

Justin L. Mack and Will Higgins
The Indianapolis Star
Rene Pasztor, 6, left; and Liliana Hernandez, 7, were found dead Sept. 26, 2016, in the car their mother was driving after a daylong Amber Alert was issued for their return.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — After Amber Susan Pasztor told police about her two dead children in her car, she described how they died, according to court documents.

Parked behind the police department in Elkhart, Ind., Pasztor indicated to an officer that she had smothered them, using hand motions to demonstrate how she covered the faces and mouths of her son and daughter until they stopped breathing.

The 29-year-old Fort Wayne area woman is facing two counts of murder in Elkhart County in the deaths of Liliana Hernandez, 7, and Rene Pasztor, 6. On Wednesday, a magistrate determined probable cause existed for Pasztor's arrest.

Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill is expected to file formal charges later this week.

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Pasztor, who didn't have custody of the children, told investigators she abducted her children Monday from her father’s Fort Wayne home, an action that led to a statewide Amber Alert.

Then police said she drove about 70 miles to Elkhart, making several stops along the way — including at a restaurant and a park. At some point, the children were killed.

Amber Pasztor, 29, of Kendallville, Ind., was arrested Sept. 26, 2016, in Elkhart, Ind., in connection with the deaths of her two children.

When she arrived in Elkhart, she parked at about 5:25 p.m. ET behind the Elkhart Police Department, court documents said.

She then flagged down an officer and said her children were dead inside the vehicle. Officers found them in the back seat.

Autopsies conducted Tuesday revealed both children died of asphyxiation. Both deaths were ruled homicides.

It's unclear how long the children were in the car before Pasztor alerted officers.

At tiny Arcola Elementary just outside of Fort Wayne, Liliana's and Rene's classmates struggled to cope with what had happened. The school for students in kindergarten through fifth grade has just 170 students.

Rene was known for his fondness for Batman, dogs and the trampoline at his grandparents' house, where the two children lived. Liliana liked the color turquoise.

A school counselor was brought in to help grieving students. One boy asked the counselor if he would ever see his friends again, comparing it to when a friend moves away and goes to a new school.

The counselor answered the boy's question: "Yes, it's like that. You won't see them again."

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"We are trying to put what happened in terms kids can understand," said school Superintendent Chris Himsel, who related the anecdote.

Pasztor lived about 7 miles from the school in the the Countryside Village mobile home park in Fort Wayne. The exterior of her home is dented and pocked with holes, which squares with one neighbor's story of seeing Pasztor stabbing at it repeatedly with a butcher knife.

Pasztor's neighbor, 71-year-old Gloria Hughett, described her interactions with Pasztor: "She'd run around cussing and mad," Hughett said.

Hughett never saw Pasztor's children but recalled Pasztor talking about them.

"She wanted her kids back. She talked about it a lot," Hugett said. "What'd she want her kids back for?"

Hughett also was neighbor to Frank Macomber, 66, whose body was found a few miles away Tuesday morning. He had been shot to death.

Macomber was named in the Amber Alert when police learned Pasztor and her children were last seen in his tan Mercury Mystique, but investigators are still working to determine the relationship between Pasztor and Macomber. Macomber is not mentioned in the Elkhart County court documents.

Officials previously told The Indianapolis Star that Macomber likely was killed before the children were abducted. No one has been charged in his death.

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Hughett said Macomber was "a gentle soul." When she broke her leg, Macomber brought her a gallon of milk.

Elkhart County authorities are handling the death investigation involving the two children. The investigation into Macomber's death will be conducted in Allen County, where Fort Wayne is located.

Follow Justin L. Mack and Will Higgins on Twitter: @justinlmack and @WillRHiggins

The mobile home of Amber Pasztor, center, is seen Sept. 28, 2016, in Countryside Village mobile home park in Fort Wayne, Ind. Pasztor is accused of kidnapping her children from their grandparents and killing the kids.