Jefferson County, Missouri Sheriff: 2 children found dead

Mallory Thomas, Joey Schneider and Joe Millitzer

4 minutes ago

FESTUS, Mo. — The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is investigating the deaths of two children. A suspect turned herself in Tuesday morning and told authorities she shot one of her children and drowned another.

“This situation is a tragedy for the community, it's a tragedy for the family and the victims, and for everyone who knows this family,” Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said at a news conference. press in the afternoon.

Investigators say a 9-year-old girl was fatally shot and a 2-year-old boy drowned. The suspect is a 36-year-old woman who told police she was the mother of the two children.

The Sheriff's Office is still working to notify next of kin. Marshak hid the victims' identities during a 4 p.m. news conference, the second of the day on the situation.

Police found the victims in two locations. They first responded to a vehicle in front of the Festus police station, where a child, a 9-year-old girl, was found dead after apparent gunshot wounds. A firearm was also recovered from the vehicle where the child was located.

After that, officers went to the Timbercreek Resort on Highway 67, where another child, a 2-year-old boy, was found dead, apparently drowned.

Marshak says life-saving measures were applied to both children, but without success.

“It’s disruptive. It’s troubling for our community,” Marshak said of the two deaths.

He added that based on preliminary evidence, it is believed the 9-year-old girl was shot in St. Francois County.

Marshak mentioned during the first press conference that “there could be another victim.” He later confirmed that authorities had located a third family member, believed to be safe. Investigators learned the family member was also a child in the suspect's care at one point.

Investigators do not believe there are any other victims.

The suspect had close ties to the Festus community and other family members who lived in the area, according to Marshak. Investigators have not yet revealed any potential motives or underlying circumstances related to this case.