Police: Indiana woman suspected of killing two children

Published 12:07 pm Wednesday, September 28, 2016

ELKHART, Ind. — The causes of death have been released for two children who were found dead in a car behind an Indiana police department’s headquarters Monday, as the case continued to take bizarre turns.

Liliana Hernandez, 7, and Rene Pasztor, 6, died as a result of asphyxiation, said James Elliott, chief deputy coroner of Elkhart County. Police suspect the children were killed by their non-custodial mother, 29-year-old Amber Susan Pasztor, of Fort Wayne. Pasztor is being held on two counts of murder after police say she drove to the police station in Elkhart, about 20 miles south of the Michigan border, Monday night and told an officer that there were two dead children in the back of her car.

An Amber Alert was issued around 12:30 p.m. Monday by the Indiana State Police after the children were last seen in the 7000 block of U.S. 33 around 6:21 a.m. in Fort Wayne. It was believed the children were in extreme danger after being abducted by Pasztor, who was driving a tan Mercury Mystique.

The Goshen, Indiana News reported the car was found at 5:25 p.m. Monday behind the Elkhart Police Department on Marion Street after Pasztor stopped an officer who was walking out of the building, police Sgt. Chris Snyder said. Pasztor told the officer the two children were dead in the back of the vehicle, according to Snyder.

The Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday formal charges of murder have not yet been filed, but are expected to be later this week as police continue to investigate. Additionally, the Elkart County magistrate was set to conduct a probable cause hearing Wednesday.

Another victim?

Frank Macomber, 66, who was also being sought by police for questioning in the case, was found dead of a gunshot wound early Tuesday morning in a wooded area near his home on Fort Wayne’s north side. His death was ruled a homicide by the Allen County coroner.

Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis T. Hill Jr., along with Allen County Prosecutor Karen E. Richards, said during a press conference Tuesday afternoon in Fort Wayne that Macomber and Amber Pasztor had some sort of relationship and lived near each other, but it was unclear exactly what that relationship entailed.

Though Richards suspected Macomber’s death likely occurred prior to the children being abducted, both prosecutors said Pasztor hasn’t been accused of killing him.

Prosecutors said the tan Mercury Mystique that ended up behind the Elkhart Police Department late Monday afternoon with the children’s bodies inside belonged to Macomber.

Hill said Pasztor has been “somewhat cooperative” and that she provided information that was helpful in the investigation into Macomber’s death, but he declined to elaborate.

Both county prosecutors believe there are no other suspects, and there’s no reason to believe the public is in danger. It remained unclear to law enforcement Tuesday what Amber Pasztor’s ties, if any, to Elkhart County were, and what led her to the Elkhart police department.

Connection to old mystery?

The father of the two children, Rene Hernandez, 24, of Fort Wayne, was found dead in a wooded area in Whitley County in June 2010. Investigators said his body was frozen and severed into two pieces.

Whitley County Sheriff Marcus Gatton Tuesday said Rene Hernandez’s case was never solved, and that any connection at this time with Amber Pasztor is unknown. Gatton said as Rene Hernandez’s girlfriend at the time, Amber Pasztor was interviewed in the past regarding the investigation, but she was never connected to the crime.

“I’m sure we will be visiting her again,” Gatton said.

Randall writes for the Goshen, Indiana News.