3 kids found dead in fetus theft case

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Autopsies were planned Sunday for three young children who were found dead hours after a woman was charged with killing their pregnant mother and her fetus in a grisly attack.


The two boys, ages 7 and 2, and their 1-year-old sister were found together Saturday in an East St. Louis apartment where their mother lived, State Police Capt. Craig Koehler said.

The children were last seen Monday with family friend Tiffany Hall, 24, now charged with first-degree murder in the death of their mother, who is believed to have been slain days before her children disappeared. Hall is also charged with intentional homicide of an unborn child, prosecutor Robert Haida said. (Watch crime scene where cops found children's bodies -- :50)
Koehler declined to say whether Hall was suspected in the children's deaths. The cause of their deaths had not been determined, he said.
The bodies of DeMond Tunstall, 7, Ivan Tunstall-Collins, 2, and Jinela Tunstall, 1, were found in an apartment at the John DeShields public housing complex, capping a furious two-day search that included scouring an 1,100-acre state park.
Authorities said a lead directed them to check the apartment, which had not been searched previously. They declined to elaborate.
"Anytime you have three deceased children, it's a very emotional time," Koehler said late Saturday as he fought back tears. "All these investigators have worked tirelessly with one outcome in mind — to find these children alive."
The body of their mother, Jimella Tunstall, 23, was found Thursday in a weedy East St. Louis lot. Authorities believe her womb was cut open after she was knocked unconscious. FULL STORY