Services planned for four Elkhart children

ELKHART, Ind. -- The four young children found suffocated this week will be buried on Tuesday.

A Mass of Christian burial for Daniel Valdez, 4, Jessica Valdez, 2, Jennifer Lopez, 8, and Gonzalo Lopez, 6, will be at 11 a.m. at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, 1108 S. Main St., in Elkhart, with visitation one hour before Mass.
Burial will be in the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, 10776 McKinley Highway in nearby Osceola.
Visitation will also run 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the family's church, Osceola Grace Brethren Church 58343 Apple Road in Osceola.
The children's mother, 27-year-old Angelica Alvarez, was arrested Thursday in their deaths. An Elkhart County magistrate was expected to review a probable cause affidavit submitted this morning by investigators to determine whether there's sufficient evidence to hold Alvarez on preliminary murder charges.
A probable cause affidavit outlines evidence found during an investigation and explains why a suspect committed a crime.
Formal charges are expected to be filed by Wednesday, according to W.V. "Bill" Wargo, chief investigator for the Elkhart county prosecutor.
Until then, Wargo said the probable cause affidavit -- and all of the information it contains about what happened Tuesday night -- will remain sealed.
Autopsies determine the children died of asphyxia, but police have not said precisely how they were killed.
Investigators made the decision to arrest Alvarez after interviewing her at an Elkhart hospital Thursday. The interview was done with aid of an interpreter because Alvarez is not fluent in English, Wargo said. "It was a short conversation. After that, they decided to move forward and make an arrest."
He wouldn't provide any more details about the interview.
The fathers of the children, Gonzalo Lopez and Fernando Valdez, were secluded with family and friends, Wargo said.
Lopez and Alvarez were never married, Wargo said, and it is unclear whether Valdez and Alvarez were married. "He (Valdez) says they are, but that's all we know," he said. Obituaries for the children list them as husband and wife.
Court documents show that Lopez, described as the ex-boyfriend of Alvarez and father of the two oldest children, had been involved in at least two physical altercations with her since 2000. In one, he was charged with domestic battery, a Class D felony, but entered into a plea agreement and was sentenced to one year in the county jail on a misdemeanor charge of assault.
In 2002, Alvarez obtained a protective order barring Lopez from having contact with her after an altercation outside a plant where Valdez worked.
The Elkhart County Clerk's office said that Alvarez and Lopez had been involved in a child custody dispute but those documents are confidential.
There were no records of criminal cases involving Valdez or Alvarez.
Court documents identified Lopez as an illegal immigrant. Wargo has said the immigration status of Alvarez and Valdez is not known, but authorities are checking.
Also Friday, Jodee Shaw, spokeswoman for Elkhart schools, said officials and students at Woodland Elementary School, where Jennifer and Gonzalo Lopez were students, are planning a memorial for the children.
"We are going to wait for things to settle down a little bit first," Shaw said. "Right now we are trying to get the school day back to normal for the kids."
Shaw said the corporation assigned additional counselors to the school Wednesday and Thursday to help children struggling with the deaths of their classmates.
The counselors did not return Friday, but Shaw said the school's social worker was available to help students.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Woodland principal Paula Grandison called Jennifer and Gonzalo "very friendly lovable kids."
"Gonzalo was somewhat quiet. He had beautiful big eyes and a smile to match. Jennifer too. She was always smiling and always willing to give you a hug. They were just great kids. They will be sorely missed by everyone here at Woodland."

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