Murder Charges Planned In Death Of 2 Children Found In Redding Storage Unit

2:35 p.m. (AP) -- Prosecutors say they plan to file first-degree murder charges against a woman and teenager in the death of two children found in a California storage locker.

The disclosure came at a news conference Thursday in Monterey County, where authorities believe the children - ages 3 and 6 - were killed.

Prosecutors say they will decide later whether to seek the death penalty.

Police have said the children were killed in a Salinas apartment around Thanksgiving then taken 300 miles to the locker in Redding.

The Associated Press typically does not identify abuse victims; it is not naming the woman and teenager because their relationship to the children is unclear.

The investigation began on Dec. 11 when a 9-year-old girl suffering from neglect and abuse was found near a house in Plumas County, where the woman had recently moved.

The woman and teen were charged with child abuse, torture and mayhem in that incident. Their lawyers have declined comment.

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7:30 a.m.

Authorities say two children found in a Northern California storage locker were killed more than 300 miles away in Central California.

Autopsies were performed on the bodies of the 3-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy Wednesday. Their names and the exact causes of their deaths were not released.

The Redding Record Searchlight reports Thursday that Shasta County District Attorney Stephen Carlton says evidence found during the autopsy showed "clearly" the children were killed in Monterey County.

A 39-year-old woman and her 17-year-old companion are under investigation in the deaths.

Carlton says the autopsy findings show that the children died around Thanksgiving while the family was still living in Salinas.

A spokesman for the Salinas Police Department says a news conference will be held there Thursday afternoon to discuss the case.