Mother charged with murder after her children, 2 and 9, are found dead – WPXI

Parmeley’s son was found unconscious at the Timber Creek Resort near De Soto, Marshak said. A deputy attempted life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead.

The sheriff’s office said Parmeley was charged with second-degree murder and officials expect she will also be charged in her daughter’s death. Officials believe the girl was shot in St. Francois County and taken to the Festus Police Department. A gun was found in the vehicle Parmeley drove to the station, Marshak said.

The motive for the murders was not immediately clear.

“The investigation is still in a very early stage,” the sheriff said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“This situation is a tragedy for our community, it is a tragedy for the family and the victims and everyone who knows this family.”

Authorities did not release the names of Parmeley’s children. In a letter to parents, the Festus R-VI school district identified the 9-year-old as Scarlet Parmeley, a “vibrant, energetic and trustworthy” girl who had just completed third grade at Festus Elementary School, KMOV reported. Teachers and school administrators described her as “caring, loving and compassionate, eager to please others, with a good sense of humor,” according to the letter.

“She was able to make friends with everyone and was very excited about moving on to fourth grade in August when classes would begin again,” the letter said.

Authorities were combing through data Tuesday to determine a timeline of the killings, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

“We’re talking about everything from phones, internet, vehicles (license plate readers) to Ring cameras,” Marshak said, according to the newspaper. “There’s so much more we’re going to learn.”

Ashley Parmeley and her children did not appear to have been guests at the Timber Creek Resort, the Jefferson County Leader reported. After the deaths, authorities found another relative who had been seen with the three in safety, the newspaper said.

The authorities are continuing their investigation.