A mother accused of suffocating her two children -- a 7-year-old girl and an 11-month-old boy -- will remain in jail until her next hearing, a judge ruled Tuesday.
According to her criminal complaint, Yu Hwei Chou told investigators that she had been planning the murder of Samantha and Paul Ross for about a week before she finally did it. Her two children were found "bound and restrained" in the back seat of a car that went off Hillsborough's Mountain View Road earlier last week, authorities said.
Autopsy results showed they died by suffocation. A source with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to News 4 that at least one of the children — possibly both — had duct tape placed over the eyes and mouth.
Prosecutors in Somerset County said that they weren't releasing any potential motive because the circumstances leading to the children's deaths remain under investigation. Toxicology results for the kids are pending as well.
MyCentralJersey.com reported that Chou barely spoke during her 15-minute hearing on Tuesday. She sat still before Superior Court Judge Peter Tober who said Chou had no criminal record. However, she had faced a domestic violence charge earlier this year due to harassment, but it was resolved.
A source who was involved in the investigation told News 4 there were domestic issues between Chou and her husband, who was at work at the time the vehicle and children were discovered.
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The 36-year-old Chou was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and will be held in the Somerset County Jail until her next hearing in December.
