Mother Denies Attempted-Murder Charges

A Port Hueneme woman accused of trying to drown her two children in Channel Islands Harbor this month pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of attempted murder.

Narinder Virk, 39, was arrested Jan. 12 after a harbor resident, awoken by plaintive cries, rescued the woman and her children, ages 6 and 9, from the frigid water.

Prosecutors and police have not specified a motive but believe Virk wanted to kill her children and then herself.

Standing outside Ventura County Superior Court, Deputy Public Defender Christina Briles said her client did not commit attempted murder, because there was no malicious intent. She described the defendant as a distraught and abused woman who momentarily lost her mind.

“I don’t think there is any question she snapped,” Briles said. “I don’t think she should be prosecuted. I think she should be helped.”

Virk, who speaks little English, moved to the United States from India about eight years ago.

She has lived in Port Hueneme with her husband, Santokh, and their two children for the last two years, authorities said. He owns a liquor store in Oxnard.

The Virks have a history of domestic disturbances, according to police records.

In February 1999, Narinder Virk reported domestic problems to Port Hueneme police, alleging that her husband had abandoned the family five months earlier, leaving them without food or money, according to authorities.

In November 1998, she told police her husband grabbed her by the throat and tried to strangle her. But no official police report was taken, and she later refused to cooperate with authorities.

Briles said her client is illiterate and has been abused and neglected by her spouse but was unable to seek help because of language barriers. She said Virk was unable to leave the marriage, which was apparently arranged by parents in India, because of religious and cultural factors.

“Divorce was not an option,” Briles said.

Briles is asking a judge to reduce her client’s bail from $500,000 to $100,000 or less. She argues that Virk is not a danger to the community.

Supporters of the accused woman are collecting money in hopes of posting bail. A hearing on the matter is set for Feb. 7.

A preliminary hearing on the attempted-murder charges is set for Feb. 17.

Meanwhile, the children, daughter Harpreet, 6, and son Sonny, 9, remain in foster care, authorities said.

The children’s father appeared in child dependency court last week for a custody hearing, but the results of that proceeding are confidential.

Approached outside the courtroom before the hearing, Santokh Virk declined to comment. He could not be reached for comment at home or at work Monday evening.