A Missouri mother walked into a police station on Tuesday morning and said that she had killed her two young children, authorities said.
Ashley Parmeley, 36, entered the Festus Police Department at around 10:30 a.m. looking disheveled and with wet clothes when she told officers that she shot her 9-year-old daughter and drowned her 2-year-old son, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak told reporters during a news conference.
“It’s such a tragedy for our community,” Marshak said. “Pray for the family, and I’d ask you to say a special prayer for our first responders.”
The 9-year-old girl was found with an apparent gunshot wound inside the backseat of the suspect’s car parked outside the police station. Officers raced to perform life-saving measures but were unsuccessful. Marshak said the girl was believed to have been shot in St. Francois County off Highway E.
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Deputies found the body of the 2-year-old boy in the water near the entrance of the Timber Creek Resort on Highway 67. Deputies jumped into the water and performed life-saving measures but were also unsuccessful.
Marshak said a third child, who was a related family member and not the suspect’s child, was found safe. Parmeley had custody of the child at one point, though Marshak did not provide further details.
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Parmeley, of Pevely, was charged with one count of second-degree murder relating to the death of her 2-year-old son.
The investigation into the death of Parmeley’s 9-year-old daughter continues, though investigators said they intend to apply for charges through the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
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The sheriff’s office has yet to release the names of the children. No further details about the case were immediately available.