IRVING, Texas (AP) - A Dallas-area mother accused of fatally strangling her two young children with a wire told a 911 operator that she did so because they were autistic.
Thirty-year-old Saiqa Akhter remains jailed on a capital murder Wednesday in the Monday stranglings of 2-year-old daughter Faryaal Akhter and 5-year-old son Zain Akhter at the family's Irving apartment.
According to a recording of the mother's 911 call, the mother told the operator, "I killed them. I killed both of them." When asked why, she said, "They're both not normal, not normal. They're autistic. Both are autistic." When pressed further, she said, "I don't want my children to be like that. ... I want normal kids."
Irving police say Zain died Monday, while the Dallas County medical examiner says Faryaal died Tuesday night.
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