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Home | All Cases | The Murders of Shaun Tara & Delylah Tara
Solved Case — Both Defendants Convicted — Life Without Parole

The Murders of Shaun and Delylah Tara

● Both Defendants — Life Without Parole Ages 6 and 3 Torture and Starvation System Failures — 5 CPS Referrals Salinas, California — Thanksgiving 2015
Victims
Shaun Tara, 6 — Delylah Tara, 3
Date of Murder
On or Around November 26–27, 2015
Location
East Salinas, Monterey County, California
Cause of Death
Ongoing Physical Abuse — Beaten to Death
Defendant One
Tami Joy Huntsman — Plea — Life
Defendant Two
Gonzalo Curiel Jr. — Convicted — Life
Survivor
Jane Doe — Half-Sister — Age 9 — Survived
Case Status
Both Serving Life — No Parole
The Victims

Shaun and Delylah Tara

Shaun Daniel Tara and Delylah Grace Tara
Shaun Shaun Daniel Tara — Age 6
Delylah Delylah Grace Tara — Age 3
Date Killed On or Around November 26–27, 2015
Mother Vivian Saucedo — Died December 2013
Father Shaun Tara Sr. — Incarcerated
Half-Sister Jane Doe — Age 9 — Survived
Buried Together — Bellevue Memorial Park, Ontario, CA

Shaun Daniel Tara was six years old. His family called him "Papas." His father Shaun Tara Sr. posted photos of his children on Facebook — healthy, happy children — until November 2015, when his account went quiet. Delylah Grace Tara was three years old. She and Shaun were siblings, the children of Vivian Saucedo and Shaun Tara Sr., and they had a nine-year-old half-sister who went into their custody situation with them and who survived what happened.

Their mother Vivian Saucedo died in December 2013, struck by a pickup truck in San Bernardino County. She was 31 years old. Their father was incarcerated in 2014. He arranged for his second cousin Tami Joy Huntsman to take care of his three children until he could get out. He believed his children were safe with her. In April 2014, he handed them over. Before Curiel moved in, Jane Doe said, life was fun. They went to Great America. They did things together. They were fed. The children were alive and cared for and had each other.

Everything changed when Huntsman's oldest son was arrested and sent to juvenile hall and Gonzalo Curiel moved in as Huntsman's live-in companion. Curiel was 16 years old and had been a friend of her son's. He began calling the shots in the house. The children were beaten for no reason. They were stripped of their clothing and locked in a cold cement bathroom without light for hours and sometimes days. They were zip-tied to their beds and chairs. They were sprayed with cold water if they made noise or cried or tried to huddle together for warmth. They were starved. They didn't understand what they had done wrong, the prosecutor told the jury. There was no reason. There was no explanation.

Shaun and Delylah were beaten to death on or around Thanksgiving weekend 2015. They were six and three years old. Their half-sister, who had been enduring the same abuse, survived. Their aunt Laura Garcia Miranda wrote on a fundraising page afterward: the system failed my niece and nephew. Multiple calls were made to do welfare checks, but nothing ever came of it. Now we have to bury two small innocent kids who will never have the chance to grow up. She was right. They are not forgotten.

01
Background

What We Know

When Gonzalo Curiel moved into Tami Huntsman's East Salinas apartment in January 2015, Shaun was five years old, Delylah was two, and their nine-year-old half-sister Jane Doe had been living with them since April 2014. The abuse that would kill Shaun and Delylah did not begin until Huntsman's oldest son Daniel was arrested and sent to juvenile hall and Curiel took his place as the authority in the household. At that point, according to Jane Doe's testimony, everything changed.

The children were beaten for reasons they could not understand and often for no reason at all. They were stripped of their clothing and confined in the small cement bathroom of the apartment, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days, without light or heat. A lock was moved from the inside of the bathroom door to the outside so the children could be secured inside against their will. They were zip-tied to their beds and chairs. They were sprayed with cold water whenever they cried, made noise, or tried to huddle together for warmth. They were given very little food. Over the months from early 2015 through November, they grew progressively thinner and weaker.

Child Protective Services received five referrals related to the household. One referral, submitted in October 2015, specifically alleged that one of the children was being zip-tied to a bed and that Huntsman was engaged in a sexual relationship with Curiel, who was still a minor. Despite investigations, authorities found no evidence sufficient to remove the children. One of the referrals was left open in the system as an administrative error for more than 100 days without resolution. The families involved had accumulated at least 53 social referrals across San Bernardino, Monterey, Los Angeles and Riverside counties since 1998. None of it saved Shaun and Delylah.

On or around Thanksgiving weekend, November 26 to 27, 2015, after months of escalating abuse and starvation, Huntsman and Curiel beat both children to death in the small bathroom of the East Salinas apartment. Monterey County Prosecutor Steve Somers told the jury it was the worst case he had ever tried. He said he had no explanation for why Huntsman and Curiel starved and tortured the children. He was unable to offer one because none exists.

After the murders, Huntsman and Curiel sealed the children's bodies inside a large plastic tote with duct tape. They drove approximately 175 miles north to Redding and placed the tote in a rented self-storage unit, spreading air fresheners throughout the unit to combat the smell. They then relocated the remaining household, the twins, Jane Doe, and themselves, approximately 100 miles from Salinas to Quincy in Plumas County. They took Jane Doe with them.

Case Timeline

How It Unfolded

December 2013 — April 2014
Mother Killed — Father Incarcerated — Children Placed with Huntsman
Vivian Saucedo, the mother of Shaun, Delylah and Jane Doe, is struck and killed by a pickup truck in San Bernardino County in December 2013. She is 31 years old. Their father Shaun Tara Sr. is incarcerated in 2014. In April 2014, he arranges for his second cousin Tami Joy Huntsman to care for his three children. At this time, life in the Huntsman household is described by Jane Doe as fun — they went to Great America, were fed, and cared for.
January 2015
Curiel Moves In — Abuse Begins
After Huntsman's husband discovers her sexual affair with 16-year-old Gonzalo Curiel and leaves the marriage, Curiel officially moves into the Huntsman apartment. Shortly after, Huntsman's oldest son Daniel is arrested and sent to juvenile hall. With Criswell gone and Daniel absent, Curiel begins asserting control over the household. Abuse of the three Tara children begins and escalates throughout 2015.
February — October 2015
Five CPS Referrals — None Result in Removal
Child Protective Services receives five referrals about the Huntsman household. An October 16 referral specifically alleges that a child is being zip-tied to a bed and that Huntsman is having a sexual relationship with Curiel, then still a minor. Despite multiple investigations across the year, authorities find no evidence sufficient to remove the children. One referral is left open as an administrative error for more than 100 days. The abuse continues to escalate.
November 26–27, 2015 — Thanksgiving Weekend
Shaun and Delylah Beaten to Death — Bodies Hidden in Redding
After months of starvation and escalating physical abuse, Huntsman and Curiel beat six-year-old Shaun and three-year-old Delylah to death in the small bathroom of the East Salinas apartment. Their bodies are sealed in a large plastic tote with duct tape and transported approximately 175 miles north to Redding, California, where they are placed in a rented self-storage unit. Air fresheners are spread throughout the unit. Curiel's fingerprint is later found on the duct tape sealing the bin. The household then relocates to Quincy in Plumas County with Jane Doe and Huntsman's twins.
December 11, 2015
Jane Doe Found in Car — Huntsman and Curiel Arrested
The Plumas County Sheriff's Office responds to a welfare check at a Quincy apartment after a call requesting help for a child. Officers find nine-year-old Jane Doe severely injured and locked in a car parked outside. She weighs approximately 40 pounds. She has multiple fractures in her fingers and shoulder, a dislocated jaw, open sores, and is infested with lice. Huntsman and Curiel are arrested. At this point, investigators are not yet aware that Shaun and Delylah exist.
December 13, 2015
Shaun and Delylah's Existence Discovered — Bodies Found in Redding
Huntsman's mother Joy Tara contacts Plumas County detectives asking about Shaun and Delylah — the first time investigators become aware of their existence. A frantic search begins. A storage unit rental receipt is found in Huntsman's car. Huntsman confesses and provides information about the storage unit as part of a negotiated arrangement. Redding Police Officer Jeffrey Schmidt opens the bin and finds the children's bodies wrapped in blankets, still in the same clothes they died in. "As I pulled the blankets away, I first noticed a red set of pajamas and brown hair," Schmidt later testifies. "It was obvious they were deceased."
March 2018
Tami Huntsman Pleads Guilty — Death Penalty Taken Off Table
Monterey County prosecutors agree to remove the death penalty from Tami Huntsman's case in exchange for a guilty plea. Huntsman pleads guilty to two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, torture, and child abuse. She is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Her plea clears the way for Curiel's trial and confirms her cooperation in establishing the facts of the case.
April 23, 2018
Curiel Convicted on All Counts in Approximately One Hour
After nearly two weeks of testimony — including Jane Doe's powerful account delivered via closed-circuit TV — the jury takes approximately one hour to find Gonzalo Curiel Jr. guilty on all counts: two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances (murder by torture; multiple murders), one count of torture, and one count of child abuse with great bodily injury of Jane Doe. Prosecutor Steve Somers calls the investigation stellar and Jane Doe's testimony undeniable. Curiel shows no reaction as the verdicts are read.
June 29, 2018
Curiel Sentenced to Two Life Terms — Mandatory Parole Hearing in 2040
Judge Pamela Butler sentences Gonzalo Curiel Jr. to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. However, California law requires that because Curiel was a minor at the time of the crimes, he is entitled to a mandatory parole board hearing after 25 years — approximately 2040. Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo states the DA's office will prepare a thorough file for the DA in office at that future time. Both defendants are now serving life. Shaun and Delylah Tara are buried together at Bellevue Memorial Park in Ontario, California.
03
Law Enforcement

The Investigation

The investigation into the deaths of Shaun and Delylah Tara involved coordination across three counties and multiple law enforcement agencies. It began not as a murder investigation but as a child abuse and welfare case in Plumas County, where deputies responded on December 11, 2015, to a request for a welfare check on a child at a Quincy apartment. What they found was Jane Doe, nine years old, locked inside an SUV outside the residence, severely malnourished and covered in injuries. She weighed approximately 40 pounds. Her fingers and shoulder had multiple fractures. Her jaw was dislocated. She had open sores across her body and was infested with lice. Huntsman and Curiel were arrested that night.

Investigators were not immediately aware that Shaun and Delylah existed. That changed on December 13, when Huntsman's mother Joy Tara contacted Plumas County detectives to ask about Shaun and Delylah. This was the first anyone in law enforcement had heard their names. A frantic search began immediately. Salinas Police were notified and began canvassing the neighborhood where the family had lived, confirming that the Tara children existed and had been living in the apartment. Investigators also interviewed Jane Doe, still recovering from her injuries, who was able to describe the series of events and the levels of physical abuse she and her siblings had endured. She described where a strange-smelling plastic tote had been left.

A storage unit rental receipt found in Huntsman's car provided the critical geographic lead. Investigators questioned Huntsman, who ultimately confessed and provided the location of the Redding storage unit as part of an arrangement negotiated with prosecutors. On the evening of December 13, Redding Police Officer Jeffrey Schmidt opened the storage unit door. Inside, toward the back of the unit, was a large plastic tote sealed with duct tape. Schmidt described in court what he found: "As I pulled the blankets away, I first noticed a red set of pajamas and brown hair. As I pulled some more blankets away, I could see the jaw line of a child and a hand. It was obvious they were deceased." The bodies of both children were inside the same bin. A print belonging to Curiel was found on the duct tape that sealed it.

The autopsies established that Shaun and Delylah died from ongoing physical abuse. The Monterey County District Attorney's office, under DA Dean Flippo, took jurisdiction as the murders and abuse of Jane Doe were determined to have occurred in Salinas. The investigation subsequently established that the murders occurred on or around Thanksgiving weekend, November 26 to 27, 2015, in the tiny bathroom of the East Salinas apartment.

A critical component of the investigation's success was Jane Doe's testimony. Now 12 at the time of Curiel's trial, she testified via closed-circuit TV and described in detail the abuse she and her siblings endured across the months from early 2015 through November. Prosecutor Steve Somers credited her testimony as undeniable and called the investigation stellar across all agencies involved.

The investigation also uncovered a devastating failure of the child welfare system. At least 53 social referrals across four counties had been made pertaining to associated families since 1998. The Monterey County Department of Social Services had received five referrals specifically related to the Huntsman household, including a report that a child was being zip-tied to a bed. A state report later found that one referral had been left open for more than 100 days as an administrative error. The system that was supposed to protect Shaun and Delylah did not protect them.

Tami Joy Huntsman and Gonzalo Curiel Jr. — Accepting Thanksgiving Food
04
Two Defendants — Both Serving Life

Arrest and Charges

Tami Joy Huntsman
Defendant One — Legal Guardian
Tami Joy Huntsman
Age 39 at Time of Crimes — Salinas, California
Relationship to Victims: Second cousin of Shaun Tara Sr.; legal guardian of the children
Charges: Two counts first-degree murder with special circumstances; torture; child abuse
Plea: Guilty — March 2018; after death penalty removed in exchange for plea
Sentence: Life without the possibility of parole
Prosecution: Monterey County DA Dean Flippo; Prosecutor Steve Somers
Gonzalo Curiel Jr.
Defendant Two — Huntsman's Companion
Gonzalo Curiel Jr.
Age 17 at Time of Crimes — 20 at Conviction — Salinas, California
Charges: Two counts first-degree murder with special circumstances (murder by torture; multiple murders); one count torture; one count child abuse with great bodily injury (Jane Doe)
Verdict: Guilty on all counts — April 23, 2018; jury deliberated approximately one hour
Tried As: Adult despite being 17 at time of crimes
Sentence: Two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole — June 29, 2018 — Judge Pamela Butler
Parole Note: California law requires a mandatory parole board hearing after 25 years because he was a minor at time of crimes; hearing expected approximately 2040; DA's office stated it will prepare a thorough file for the DA in office at that time
Case Closure Notes
Prosecutor Steve Somers called the case the worst he had ever tried and stated he had no explanation for why Huntsman and Curiel starved and tortured the children. The defense argued that Huntsman, 22 years older than Curiel, was the true instigator and had manipulated him; the jury rejected this and found Curiel guilty on all counts. DA Dean Flippo confirmed after the verdict that the DA's office would prepare a thorough file for any future parole board hearing, whenever that occurs. Both Shaun Daniel Tara and Delylah Grace Tara are buried together at Bellevue Memorial Park in Ontario, California. Their half-sister Jane Doe survived.
Forensic Breakdown

Evidence and Method

Cause and Manner of Death

Autopsies confirmed that Shaun and Delylah Tara died as a result of ongoing physical abuse. The murders occurred in the small bathroom of the East Salinas apartment, which was identified in court as the location where all three children suffered the most severe abuse and where Shaun and Delylah likely took their final breaths.

The complaint filed by prosecutors described the killings as murder committed during torture, specifying that the defendants caused cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose. The jury found the special circumstance of murder committed by torture to be true.

Methods of Abuse

Jane Doe testified that she and her siblings were punched, kicked, hit with belts and other objects, refused food, zip-tied to their beds or chairs, and locked in a dark, cold, cement bathroom without clothing for hours and sometimes days. Cold water was sprayed on them if they cried or made noise.

The bathroom lock was deliberately moved from the inside to the outside of the door so the children could be locked in. When Jane Doe attempted to escape through a bathroom window, Curiel caught her, moved her to a bedroom, and beat her with a belt while Huntsman held her down. Her forearm and shoulder were broken; she received no medical care.

Physical Evidence — Fingerprint and Storage Unit

The children's bodies were placed inside a large plastic tote and sealed with duct tape. Investigators found a fingerprint belonging to Gonzalo Curiel on the duct tape when they processed the storage unit. This physical evidence placed him directly at the scene of the body disposal and contributed significantly to the prosecution's case at trial.

Air fresheners had been distributed throughout the storage unit to mask the odor of decomposition. A storage unit rental receipt found in Huntsman's car led investigators to the location in Redding, confirming the deliberate nature of the concealment.

Jane Doe's Testimony

Jane Doe, 12 years old at the time of Curiel's trial, testified via closed-circuit TV and provided a detailed, firsthand account of the abuse she and her siblings endured. Her testimony was described by prosecutor Steve Somers as undeniable. She described how life in the household changed when Curiel moved in, and how Curiel began calling the shots after Huntsman's son was sent to juvenile hall.

She described being beaten for no reason, being locked in the bathroom, and being starved. She also described where a strange-smelling plastic tote had been placed, which directed investigators toward the Redding storage unit where her siblings' bodies were found. Somers credited her bravery in testifying as central to the prosecution's success.

CPS and System Failures

Child Protective Services received five referrals about the Huntsman household in 2015 alone. One referral specifically alleged a child was being zip-tied to a bed and that Huntsman was engaged in a sexual relationship with Curiel, then a minor. Despite investigations, authorities found no evidence sufficient to remove the children.

A subsequent state review found that one referral had been erroneously left open in the system as an active case for more than 100 days, which California law identified as a failure. The families associated with the case had accumulated at least 53 social referrals across four California counties since 1998. None of these interventions saved Shaun or Delylah.

Starvation and Malnourishment

Food was systematically withheld from all three Tara children throughout 2015. Jane Doe weighed approximately 40 pounds at the time of her rescue — severely below what would be expected for a child her age. Accounts from neighbors described the children as malnourished and growing progressively thinner under Huntsman's care.

The starvation of the children was both a form of punishment and control. It served to weaken them physically and make them easier to dominate. Combined with the physical abuse, the starvation contributed to the conditions that led directly to Shaun and Delylah's deaths on Thanksgiving weekend 2015.

In Memoriam

They Are Not Forgotten

Shaun and Delylah Tara's mother died when he was four and she was one. Their father went to prison when Shaun was five and Delylah was two. They went to live with a cousin who was supposed to keep them safe. They kept their little sister company in the bathroom where they were locked in the dark. They huddled together for warmth and were sprayed with cold water for it. They were six years old and three years old and they had already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime and they endured what they endured together, and then they died together, in that same bathroom, on Thanksgiving weekend.

Their father posted photos of them on Facebook, healthy and happy children, and then his account went quiet in November 2015. He was in prison when his children were being tortured. He could not have saved them even if he had known. Their aunt wrote that the system failed them. Multiple welfare calls. Multiple investigations. The children zip-tied to beds. A report left open for more than 100 days as an administrative error. And still: no intervention. Still: not enough.

Their half-sister Jane Doe was there through all of it. She survived. She testified when she was twelve years old and she told the jury exactly what happened to her family, and the jury believed every word she said, and they convicted Gonzalo Curiel in approximately one hour. Jane Doe's courage gave Shaun and Delylah a measure of justice they could not ask for themselves.

Shaun Daniel Tara and Delylah Grace Tara are buried together at Bellevue Memorial Park in Ontario, California. Together in the bathroom. Together in the storage bin. Together in the ground. They had each other through all of it. They are not forgotten.

Shaun Daniel Tara and Delylah Grace Tara
Sources
Monterey County Weekly — Jury Finds Gonzalo Curiel Guilty on All Charges of Murder and Child Abuse, April 23, 2018  |  Plumas News — Jury Finds Man Who Murdered Two Children, Tortured One, Guilty, May 2018  |  Newsweek — Police Identify Two Children Found Dead in California Storage Unit, December 2015  |  CNN — Murder Charges Filed in Case of 2 Children Found in California Storage Unit, December 2015  |  Monterey County Weekly — State Report Details History of Murdered Children's Home Life, February 2016  |  Monterey County Now — Report Details Final Months of Kids Killed in East Salinas Home, February 2016  |  Monterey County Now — Family Mourns Death of Two Children Found in Storage Unit, December 2015  |  PIX11 — Children Found in California Storage Bin Died of Ongoing Physical Abuse, December 2015  |  Law and Crime — The Murders of Shaun Tara and Delylah Tara — Tami Huntsman  |  Coalition for the Murdered and Missing — The Murders of Shaun Tara and Delyah Tara (site archive)
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