A San Rafael woman charged with murdering her mother pleaded not guilty in a court hearing Thursday.
Court-appointed attorney Matthew Siroka entered the plea for Tonantzyn Oris Beltran, 29, during an arraignment in Marin Superior Court that had previously been postponed. Judge Geoffrey Howard set the next hearing for April 11.
Siroka and prosecutor Jack Shannon declined to comment.
San Rafael police arrested Tonantzyn Beltran on Jan. 8 following a confrontation with her mother, Olivia Beltran, 55, a prominent community activist, at her apartment on Cresta Way. Officers arrived to find Tonantzyn Beltran standing with a knife in her hand on a balcony while her wounded mother laid next to her, police said. The victim later died at a local hospital.
Tonantzyn Beltran broadcasted the incident live on social media, police said.
Several family members attended the hearing Thursday. The victim’s youngest daughter, Tonatiuh Beltran, provided a written statement, saying her mother “fought tirelessly” to get help for her sister, who struggled with severe mental health issues for years. The family statement requested patience, respect, and compassion for the defendant and said they viewed the “not-guilty” plea as a step in the right direction.
“We are coming together as a family to get more information to the court on the extensive medical history so that the court can help us,” Tonatiuh Beltran wrote. “My family experienced many systematic failures. Hopefully, this time, they can finally do right.”
Her family said that authorities did not perform a mental health intervention, which would have triggered a 72-hour hold on Tonantyzn Beltran in the hours before her mother’s death.
On the day of the incident, Tonantzyn Beltran posted a social media video of her visit to a Santa Rosa police station, where she and her mother attempted to retrieve Tonantzyn’s impounded vehicle.
In her 10-minute video recorded from a distance, she filmed her mother’s discussion with a police sergeant in the station lobby.
“There is concern that your daughter can’t safely drive right now,” said the sergeant, identified by Santa Rosa police as Josh Medeiros. “She probably has mental health issues based on what you said. In her current state, I’m not totally comfortable in her driving.”
Tonantzyn Beltran later turned her camera on herself and invited viewers to a party. She then waved an opened pocket knife as she spoke. A few minutes later, the officer later exited the lobby after finishing his conversion with her mother.
Santa Rosa police said the department’s command staff viewed Tonantzyn Beltran’s video and Medeiros’ body-worn camera and determined that Medeiros did not see the knife and thus he did not act improperly or violate department policy, Sgt. Patricia Steffens said in January. Steffens was out of the office and could not be reached for further comment Thursday.
A public memorial is planned for Olivia Beltran next month, the family said.
“She was a fierce advocate for many communities, whether it was for the rights of undocumented workers, LGBTQ+, tenants, animals, Indigenous people, and Madre Tierra,” Tonatiuh Beltran said in the statement. “Through her actions, Olivia Beltran emphasized the importance of collective liberation for all, the power of caring for one another, the difference a single person could make.”