ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. – A Missouri mother who turned herself into Jefferson County authorities on Tuesday, informing officers that she shot one of her children and drowned another, now faces charges in a second county amid the investigation.
Prosecutors in St. Francois County have charged Ashley Parmeley, 36, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
On Tuesday evening, prosecutors in Jefferson County charged Parmeley with one count of second-degree murder.
Parmeley went to the Festus Police Department around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and told officers she had shot one of her children and drowned the other. Festus police found her nine-year-old daughter in Parmeley’s SUV with gunshot wounds. Officers tried to save the girl, but she did not survive.
After that, officers responded to Timbercreek Resort on Highway 67, where Parmeley’s two-year-old son was found deceased from a reported drowning.
The second-degree murder charge from Tuesday stems from the drowning at Timber Creek Resort.
New charges stem from the death of the nine-year-old girl. Investigators say the girl was fatally shot in St. Francois County before she was found in the vehicle outside the Festus Police Station.
According to a probable cause statement, Parmeley pulled off the road near a lake or pond at a confidential address, where she allegedly shot her daughter. Video footage showed a vehicle near that scene, and witnesses reported hearing gunshots from the location.
Festus School District officials identified the nine-year-old as Scarlet Parmeley. A district statement described her as a bubbly, energetic, and trustworthy student. Scarlet would have started the fourth grade in August.
“This situation is a tragedy for the community, it’s a tragedy for the family and the victims, and anybody that knows this family,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak during a news conference on Tuesday.
Court documents did not indicate any potential motives or underlying circumstances in connection with either of the deaths.