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Motive still undetermined in deaths of two children

ELKHART, Ind. (WANE) — Authorities are continuing to gather information as they try to determine why a mother charged with murder would have killed her two children.

Amanda Pasztor, 29, of Fort Wayne was arrested in Elkhart, Indiana Monday after telling an officer that the bodies of the children, Liliana Hernandez, 7, and Rene Pasztor, 6, were in the backseat of her car. The two had been the subject of a statewide Amber Alert that had been issued earlier in the day.

A reporter with WSBT-TV asked Sgt. Chris Snyder, Public Information Officer with the Elkhart Police Department, the following questions.

Have police determined a motive?: Tuesday morning who provided an update on the investigation: “Still working on it. Last night we were looking at the big picture. We wanted to figure out exactly what led to the death of these children. We were able to get enough of the big picture painted last night and an arrest was made and our detectives today will kind of work with Fort Wayne to look at filling in all the pieces of what led to the abduction in Allen county and then the apprehension here in Elkhart City.”

Why did Amanda Pasztor travel to Elkhart?: “That’s a good question. Unfortunately there is a lot of distance between here and there. Both as far as the investigation goes as well as mileage. So that is something we’re going to work with Allen County detectives to see what they can come up with in Allen county and then our detectives will look for any local ties as of last night. We didn’t have any local ties or reason as to why she was looking to Elkhart, but it’s something where we can follow up with this morning.”

You’re charging her with murder which tells me you believe she was the one who murdered those children. What led you to that conclusion? Did she admit to it? Was there evidence?: “Our detectives look at a lot of things. Obviously they look at a lot of evidence, they look at statements, and they look at information provided by Allen County. They look at all that information and last night they felt they had enough evidence and information to make the arrest on her for both her children.”

What do you know about her emotional state as she was flagging that officer down?: “At first she was relatively calm and cooperative with police. Listening to what we were saying. And then became a little bit emotional later in the investigation.”

An autopsy on the two children is being performed in Kalamazoo, Michigan according to the Associated Press.

Sgt. Snyder said there could be an update coming Tuesday afternoon.

In addition to Amber Pasztor and her two children, police were also looking for 65-year-old Frank Macomber who was believed to have been with Amanda at some point on Monday. A body was found in a wooded area in the 6600 block of Wallen Road in Fort Wayne early Tuesday morning and while the autopsy on the body has yet to be completed, Macomber’s daughter, Michelle Troye told 24-Hour News 8’s sister station, WANE, the body is that of her father.

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