A San Antonio mother has been arrested after her two children were found dead inside a sweltering car. The woman, 28-year-old Tiona Lasaisha Islar, now faces criminal charges.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said that his officers had received a call about two unresponsive children and arrived at the residence around 3:25 p.m.
The victims were identified as six-year-old Sevani Stevenson and three-year-old Miyani Islar. Sevani was also autistic. Investigators say both children were initially found inside a car parked outside the family’s home. At some point before authorities arrived, someone carried them inside.
One of the responding deputies immediately began CPR to save them, but the efforts failed. When paramedics arrived, they pronounced both children dead.
In her defense, Islar, the mother, told investigators that she had fallen asleep inside her home earlier that morning. According to her statement, she lay down around 10 a.m. after putting on a movie for her children.
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When she woke up hours later, she claimed she could not find them. Searching outside, she said she discovered both of them motionless in the car.
However, Sheriff Salazar suggested that her version of events did not add up. Speaking to reporters, he explained that investigators noticed problems with her account. “There are some inconsistencies with the story that we’re being given,” the sheriff admitted. “At present, I’m not confident enough to give you all that, that’s definitely what happened.”
Because of those discrepancies, deputies brought the mother in for questioning. “So, at this point, we’ve taken the mother of the two children downtown. She is being questioned at present,” Salazar told the media.
NEW: Mother arrested after 3-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy found dead in vehicle
Sheriff Javier Salazar said a 3-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy, both siblings, were found dead inside a car by their mother
Tiona Lasaisha Islar was arrested the same day on two charges of… pic.twitter.com/0a49b05W77
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) September 22, 2025
He added that while she was cooperating, they were hoping more details would surface as she talked. “She is being mostly cooperative with us at this point so what we’re hoping for is that, in talking to her, it may be able to shed some more light on the situation,” he said.
Islar was later arrested and booked on charges of injury to a child, single bodily injury death. Additional charges may follow depending on the results of the ongoing investigation.
The incident has shocked the neighbors and the community. One woman told local outlet KEN5 that the children’s deaths had shaken her to the core. “I just hope that the babies are at peace,” she said, adding that the tragedy had made her “sick to her stomach.”
A Texas mother is behind bars after her two kids were found unconscious in a hot car on a sweltering late summer day and were later pronounced dead, police say.
Tiona Lasaisha Islar, 28, stands accused of two counts of injury to a child in the deaths of her 6-year-old son…
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— ˶˃ NewsCat 📰🗞️NO DMs˂˶ (@typocatCAv2) September 22, 2025
Beyond the immediate questions over what happened on Saturday, authorities also confirmed that there had been earlier warnings. Sheriff Salazar noted that Child Protective Services had received calls in the past regarding the welfare of the two children. “There were early indicators,” he acknowledged, suggesting that the family had already been on the radar of child protection officials.
