A Mesa murder suspect wants to visit the children she’s accused of kidnapping

A Kennewick woman asked a judge Tuesday to let her talk with her children despite being accused of killing their other mom.

Chiloe Chervenell, 49, said she’s worried about her kids, ages 7 and 9.

At the same hearing in Franklin County Superior Court, she pleaded innocent to the second-degree murder of her longtime partner, Kathleen “Kathy” Chervenell-Brinson, a 54-year-old teacher

Chervenell is also charged with kidnapping the children and fleeing to Oregon.

Though the kids are Chervenell’s biological children, they were under the protection and care of Chervenell-Brinson who had gotten a no contact order against her.

At the time, she convinced a judge that she and the kids were in danger because of Chervenell’s destructive lifestyle involving drug use.

The dependency judge granted the no contact order, but allowed Chervenell to have two video visits per week, according to her defense attorney Shelley Ajax.

“These are her biological children,” Ajax said at Tuesday’s hearing, arguing that Chervenell has a right to see them.

But Franklin County Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Stovern said it would be dangerous to let her see the kids, especially before investigators are able to interview them this week.

“We don’t know if they witnessed the murder,” he said. “We don’t want any manipulation of the witnesses.”

Judge Norma Rodriguez said she didn’t feel comfortable letting Chervenell talk to the children before that interview.

She approved a no contact order for a week, and scheduled another hearing next week to reconsider Chervenell ‘s request to see her kids.

Also, her trial was set for Oct. 12. She continues to be held in the Franklin County jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

Murder and kidnapping

Four months before she died, Chervenell-Brinson had gotten the protection order against Chervenell.

The protection order was supposed to keep Chervenell away from the Mesa home, and limit her contact with the children to two supervised visits each week.

Chervenell-Brinson said at the time she hoped not having access to her children would make Chervenell work to become sober.

Then sometime between Aug. 3 and 4, Chervenell allegedly went to the Mesa home. She told a friend in a text message that she “didn’t know the power of her hands and killed her wife.” according to court records.

Police eventually discovered Chervenell-Brinson strangled and under a pile of bicycles and other junk on the porch. They also learned Chervenell had taken the kids and Chervenell-Brinson’s car and cellphone.

By tracking the cellphone, Morrow County, Ore., deputies found her and the two children asleep in the car.