Investigators in St. Louis think that a new mother shot and killed her 3-month-old daughter and her husband before turning the weapon on herself.
The shooting took place last week, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The 3 victims have been identified as Mary Jo Trokey, 32, Matthew Trokey, 33, and their daughter Taylor Rose Trokey.
The family dog was also found dead.
Police told reporters that Mary Jo Trokey is the suspected shooter and Investigators are tracking her purchase of a firearm days before the deadly incident.
The Trokey’s family pastor said that he had seen no signs of trouble.
“It’s hard to imagine what happened,” Rev. Bob Reiker said. “People are baffled by it. It’s inexplicable how someone could do this to themselves, let alone their little girl.”
Family members at the Trokey funeral on Wednesday confirmed to KMOV that Mary Jo was suffering from postpartum depression.
Experts on mental illness in new Moms say that it’s possible that postpartum psychosis may have played a role in the killings.
Erin Poniewaz, a mother-baby intensive outpatient program therapist, says that 1 in 1,000 new mothers experience postpartum psychosis.
According to Poniewaz, a woman with postpartum psychosis may hear voices or have paranoid delusions.
To add to that, sleep deprivation can also contribute to a break from reality.
“When you’re not sleeping, your mind plays tricks on you, and you can lose your footing really quickly,” Poniewaz said.
However, most women who fo experience postpartum psychosis do not become violent.
Teenager Abducted By Snapchat Predator Dies After Being Reunited With Family
A 15-year-old girl from Mauriceville, Texas that is believed to have been abducted by a predator she met on Snapchat has died. This is just months after she was found safe.
According to her mother, Tammy Cox, Heaven Cox passed away on Saturday. A cause of death has not been released.
On Saturday, Tammy wrote on Facebook, “Our sweet Heaven left us to be with Jesus this afternoon around 4:00. Some bright lights are not meant for this dark and cruel world….Sing with the angels sweet girl. I love you,” Tammy Cox wrote.
Just a couple of hours earlier, the mother wrote a post in which she asked for prayers for her daughter, citing an emergency.
According to the New York Daily News, Heaven suffered from mental illness.
Heaven first went missing on November 25, and was found five days later in Louisiana.
In a Facebook post that has since been deleted Tammy wrote that her daughter was manipulated by a “much older” man for “some time.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has not confirmed a Snapchat predator.
They said that Heaven might have run away on her own.
According to KHOU, when she disappeared in November, the girl’s family believed she was with the man she met online. It is unclear if they met up.
Police wrote at the time, “The residence where Heaven was located belonged to a relative of a person that was known by Heaven. This investigation will continue and we will relay further information as it becomes available.”
Police said the teen was found unharmed at the time.