The Bexar County District Attorney's Office hasn't decided whether to seek the death penalty for an Edinburg woman who is charged with capital murder in the deaths of her two children, a prosecutor said in court Wednesday.

Marlene Vidal was in court for the Wednesday morning hearing before state District Judge Joel Perez, along with her attorneys Daniel De La Garza and Charles Bunk. Vidal, 34, faces seven felony charges related to the deaths of her children, Adrian Vidal, 5, and Aleeza Vidal, 6, whose bodies were found in a burning SUV in west San Antonio.

Vidal wore a red jail suit, and only spoke when the judge asked her who she was and if she was aware of the charges against her. 

Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Willem Van Zeben told Perez the district attorney's office had not decided whether to will seek the death penalty.  If convicted of capital murder, Vidal faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole, or death. 

Van Zeben did not say when the district attorney's office would make that decision, or what factors would be considered.

Perez asked the prosecution and the defense team about the status of the pre-trial discovery process, saying he wanted it completed "as quickly as possible."

De La Garza, who is representing Vida, told the judge that the defense team has "a substantial amount of discovery we are going to look into."

Van Zeben told the court the district attorneys office was waiting for "several items" from law enforcement agencies. "As soon as our office receives those, we will make those available," Van Zeben said.

Perez set Nov. 12 as the next hearing in the case, and told Van Zeben to "check with the higher-ups" and the district attorneys office "to see if you will seek the death penalty."

The bodies of Vidal's children were found on May 15 after a passerby saw a Hyundai SUV on fire in the parking lot of an industrial complex on Richland Hills Drive on the West Side, according to San Antonio police.

Officers found Vidal at the scene when they arrived, and her comments - along with video from surveillance cameras and other evidence  - led investigators to believe she was responsible for the children's deaths, police officials say. 

Investigators believe the children were stabbed to death. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office determined the children died from multiple sharp force injuries, not from the fire.

Vidal's family members have told the San Antonio Express-News that Vidal was experiencing a mental health crisis and that they had tried to warn authorities that she could pose a danger to her children. 

On May 10, Vidal drove with her children from Edinburg to San Antonio to stay with her sister. She left abruptly on the morning of May 13, telling family members she believed people were trying to take the children and set the apartment on fire.

Vidal then returned to Edinburg, where police encountered her at a Walmart after customers reported that she was speaking and acting erratically. The Edinburg Police Department said officers had no basis to take her into custody.

Vidal returned to her sister's San Antonio apartment early on May 14. Family members later lost contact with her and called several law enforcement agencies seeking help before the children were found dead the following morning.

A Bexar County grand jury indicted Vidal on Aug. 6 on the following charges: 

two counts of capital murder of a person under 10 years old

capital murder of multiple persons

two counts of injury to a child with intent to cause serious bodily injury

tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse

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This article originally published at DA may seek death penalty for mom whose kids were found in burning SUV.