A Morgan Hill father accused of fatally beating his wife as their young children watched was charged with murder and appeared in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Wednesday without entering a plea, according to ABC7, NBC Bay Area and SFGATE.

Roy Anthony Lopez, 37, is accused of killing Jasmyne Garcia, 34, at the family's Vintage Lane home. Prosecutors say Lopez drove Garcia to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose on Saturday morning and told medical staff he had killed his wife; first responders found her in a vehicle and pronounced her dead at the scene, SFGATE and NBC reported. Morgan Hill police were notified around 9:20 a.m.; San Jose officers detained Lopez before Morgan Hill took him into custody.

What investigators say happened

Court filings summarized by NBC and SFGATE say Garcia's 14-year-old son returned home Friday evening to find blood, damaged walls and his mother with facial injuries so severe she was "unrecognizable," then watched her lose consciousness overnight. Prosecutors allege Lopez waited until Saturday to seek hospital help. The couple's 6-year-old son told investigators his father punched Garcia "because 'Daddy got mad'" and that he hid under a bed during the attack, according to an affidavit cited by Bay Area News Group via SFGATE. Lopez is also charged with child endangerment; filings claim he grabbed the 14-year-old by the neck and slammed his head against a bed before leaving the home earlier that night.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Barbara Cathcart called the alleged crime "absolutely horrible," telling reporters it is inconceivable to beat someone to death in front of a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old. The medical examiner had not publicly identified the victim; Garcia's family named her on a GoFundMe supporting the children. The three children — ages 14, 6 and 3 — were placed with the county Department of Family and Children's Services.

Next court date

A judge ordered Lopez held in jail and barred him from contacting the children. He is due back Dec. 15. NBC noted the case is the county's seventh domestic-violence homicide this year. If you or someone you know needs help, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).