Missouri police said that a woman drowned one of her children and shot another child before walking into a police station and confessing.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department said that 36-year-old Ashley Parmeley appeared to be wearing wet clothing when she walked into the Festus Police Department on Tuesday morning. She allegedly said that she had killed her two children.
Police found a girl injured in the woman’s car in the parking lot and attempted life-saving measures before declaring the 9-year-old dead at the scene. Police believe the child was shot while the car was in St. Francois County near Highway E.
‘He said, ‘Sheriff, this is a tough one.”
Investigators said they found her 2-year-old son apparently drowned at the Timber Creek Resort in the rural part of Festus. They again attempted life-saving measures, but he was declared dead as well.
Police were able to find a third child, a relative, alive.
Parmely was taken into custody and charged in connection with the death of her son, but the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said they were going to ask her to be charged in the death of her daughter as well. She was booked into the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
Officials had not released the names of the victims, but a letter sent from Festus schools confirmed the identify of the 9-year-old girl.
“It is with sadness and heavy hearts that the Festus R-VI School District can confirm that Scarlet Parmeley, who was the 9-year-old victim of today’s tragic events, had just successfully completed 3rd grade at Festus Elementary School,” the letter read.
“Scarlet’s teachers and administrators say she was a bubbly, energetic, and trustworthy student,” they continued. “They say she was caring and compassionate, eager to please, with a good sense of humor. She could make friends with anyone and she was very much looking forward to moving to the 4th grade when classes resume in August.”
KMOV-TV reported that Parmely had blacked out her profile on social media before the alleged murders and also posted an image in support of the Second Amendment.
“So many people in our community will be impacted by this. I would ask for additional prayers tonight,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak in a media briefing.
“I spoke with one of the officers guarding the crime scene out here earlier, and he said, ‘Sheriff, this is a tough one.'”
Festus is a suburb of St. Louis with a population of about 12,000 residents.
Here’s the news video report from KMOV.
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