Authorities say Henderson mom confessed to drowning her 2 children

KINGMAN, Arizona — A Henderson woman waived extradition Wednesday in an Arizona courtroom after she was arrested on murder charges in the deaths of her two children.

Jovan Trevino, 33, was arrested Tuesday at Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City, according to a statement from Bullhead City police.

She is suspected of drowning her two children on Monday at their Henderson home.

Trevino waived extradition during a three-minute hearing that Court Commissioner Billy Sipe conducted Wednesday afternoon in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman.

“I’ll waive,” she said quietly when asked if she was willing to be returned to Clark County for resolution of her criminal charges.

Trevino appeared in a standard orange-and-white-striped jail jumpsuit and gave one-word answers through her face mask.

Sipe told the defendant that, based on his experience, she could expect Clark County officials to pick her up within a couple of days to return her to Las Vegas.

Trevino is being held without bond at the Adult Detention Center about a mile from the court facility. Jail Commander Don Bischoff said that she has exhibited no behavioral problems and that she is “housed under close supervision, away from other new intake prisoners.”

‘Beyond assistance’

A Henderson police arrest warrant for Trevino said that she checked into the Bullhead City hospital voluntarily, then admitted to hospital staff and police that she killed her children, Gihanna Fox, 1, and Christopher Fox III, 4, by drowning them in separate bathtubs in their home in the 700 block of Calamus Palm Place, off Galleria Drive near Stufflebeam Avenue.

During a search of the home, police found the children’s bodies and a suicide note written by Trevino, Henderson police said in the warrant.

Police said Trevino offered details of how the children were killed during bath time.

Officers initially were called to the family home about 6:30 p.m. Monday by the children’s father, Christopher Fox, to investigate a medical emergency. When first responders arrived, the children were “beyond assistance” and pronounced dead at the scene, Henderson police said, describing the deaths as suspicious.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that the deaths were being investigated as homicides.

In Trevino’s arrest warrant, police described Fox as cooperative and noted that he had a temporary protective order filed against him by Trevino but went to the home anyway that evening because “things did not seem right.”

Police said that when they searched the home, they found the older child dead in a loft with medical paraphernalia near his body. Police then found the body of Gihanna on the floor of the master bedroom of the home. She also had medical paraphernalia next to her.

The drownings

According to police, they found a “large kitchen knife and a towel that had a red substance that appeared to be blood” on the bed of the master bedroom. Around this time, Henderson detectives were told that Trevino had voluntarily walked into the emergency room at the hospital in Bullhead City.

“During an evaluation she had admitted that she had just killed her two children,” police wrote.

Bullhead City police arrived a short time later and detained Trevino. Henderson police then traveled to Bullhead City to question her. She confirmed to police that she was the one who wrote the suicide note late Sunday before the killings Monday.

Police said Trevino took over-the-counter drugs and drank alcohol before going to her oldest child’s room, where she told the child to get in the water-filled bathtub.

“Jovan tricked Christopher into playing on his stomach in the bathtub by giving him a pair of glasses and using them to see better underwater,” police wrote.

Police said Trevino then used one of her legs to pin the boy under water while holding his head down as the boy struggled for his life.

“Jovan knew that Christopher was dead and advised that the process took approximately three to four minutes,” police said.

Gihanna was killed next in a bathtub in the master bedroom, police said.

“Jovan then grabbed Gihanna by the back of the head and forced her head underwater,” police wrote, adding that “it did not take as long to drown Gihanna as it had taken to drown Christopher.”

Police said Trevino made suicide attempts after the slayings. Eventually she grabbed some alcoholic beverages and left the home in her Crown Victoria with California license plates.

The Clark County coroner’s office had not identified the children or determined their official cause and manner of death as of Wednesday afternoon.

Reports of domestic violence

Records show that Trevino previously asked for full custody of the children in a filing against their father. She cited a history of domestic violence, records show.

In the filing, she also cited multiple protection orders previously filed against Fox. The couple lived together but were not married. The custody case remained open as of Wednesday.

Criminal records show that Fox was charged on Oct. 4 with a third offense of violating a protection order. He pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in the case on Sept. 21, according to District Court documents.

Henderson police reports show that officers responded to the home on June 24 after a report that Fox was stalking Trevino.

Records also show that Trevino called police on Saturday but hung up and refused to come to the door when officers arrived. On Sunday, Henderson police were asked by Child Protective Services to help investigate allegations that Fox was committing domestic violence and attempting to molest a child. Police were unable to make contact with Fox on Sunday.

A note from Henderson police dispatch alerted officers during Saturday’s call that the family had prior reports of domestic violence and assault and battery.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter. Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.