MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The preliminary hearing continued in a Merced County Superior Courtroom Wednesday morning for Patricia Ortiz, accused of killing each of her three children in January 2022. Authorities say she suffocated three-year-old Alexa, five-year-old Matteo, and eight-year-old A nna one by one in her Le Grand apartment on Jan. 12, 2022. Wednesday, the detective who interviewed Ortiz the night the children were killed and roughly a week later, said she admitted to him how she killed each child using tape. "Approached from behind and used both of her hands to put the tape over his nose and pulled him into her chest," said Detective Daniel Ramirez, with the major crimes investigative team at the Merced County Sheriff's Office, who took the stand Wednesday. As he specifically talked about the death of Matteo, Ortiz could be heard crying loudly in the courtroom along with family members in the room. The prosecution with the Merced County Sheriff's Office would go on to ask about the terminology used when discussing the death of the children. Ramirez said he was told by Ortiz, "She claimed sleeping, or said sleeping." Meanwhile, the detective also testified that Ortiz told him how she took the children from school one at a time, before going home to kill them one at a time. He says the first was Alexa, taken from the local Head Start program. He says after she killed her, Ortiz headed to her husband's work to drop off his lunch before she proceeded to pick up and kill Matteo, and eventually Anna, from Le Grand Elementary. The detective also detailed how the children's mother told him how she struggled to kill the two older children. "Patricia used her own legs to wrap around Matteo's legs and Anna's legs to prevent them from struggling," he said. More about Ortiz's mental state following the death of her children. He says she attempted to take her own life and was found in a bathtub of the apartment. She was eventually taken to a local hospital. Testimony from another detective, Detective Luis Ortiz, revealed her ongoing struggle with mental health, including depression and anxiety. Detective Ortiz interviewed the suspect's husband multiple times, who revealed to him his wife's prior suicidal behavior and even concerning conversations leading up to the death of their children. "Patricia suggested that he... Both of them, go and spend the money that they had together and then end their lives," he said. Patricia Ortiz will be back in the Merced County Superior Court for an arraignment on the information on April 10. ...read more read less