TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about suicide which may be triggering to some.
Tragedy struck a Minnesota community in what authorities are investigating as a triple murder-suicide. Tattoo artist, Molly Cheng, 23, reportedly drowned her three children in Vadnais Lake before ending her own life, after discovering that her husband, 27-year-old Kos Lee, died by suicide.
The chain of events began on Friday, July 1. Deputies from the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Maplewood Police Department reported to the Rolling Hills Estates Mobile Home Park at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, responding to a call about a possible suicide, reports People. Upon arriving at the scene, authorities found Lee’s body.
Lee reportedly shot himself.
Lee appeared to have shot himself in the head, a law enforcement official confirmed to the Star Tribune. Cheng made the call to police. Hours later, a welfare check was requested for Cheng and her three children. Cheng was believed to have been suicidal at the time of the request.
Law enforcement officials used Cheng’s cellphone signal to track her.
According to a press release, officers tracked Cheng’s cellphone to Vadnais-Sucker Lake Regional Park in Vadnais Heights at about 4 p.m. on Friday. They found her abandoned car and children’s shoes lined up by the lake.
Officials found the bodies of the children first.
The park was closed as officials searched for the bodies. At 7:30 p.m., they first found the body of a boy. Around midnight, they located another boy’s body, and then at about 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 2, officials recovered a girl’s body. Cheng’s body was discovered 20 minutes later.
All of the children were under the age of 6.
Medical examiners are still determining the cause of death. Detectives have yet to establish a motive for the deaths. However, Cheng and Lee, who were both members of the local Hmong community, had reportedly had an argument in front of their three children, all of whom were under the age of 6, prior to Lee shooting himself.
There have been reports that members of Lee’s family went live on Facebook after learning of his death, and made disparaging remarks about Cheng.
The Hmong community believes these deaths could have been prevented.
Leaders in the Hmong community believe this tragedy could have been prevented. “We wish there would be 24-hour supervision for the mother and the children because of the father, because of what happened to him,” Lee’s grandfather told ABC affiliate KTSP, through an interpreter.
“In a short time, less than three hours, the police released the mother and kids, and then in that three hours, a thing happened to those children. So wouldn’t it be better for there to be 24-hour supervision after such a tragedy happened to their loved one?”
If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-8255. Representatives are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.