Woman Kills Herself After Drowning Her Three Minor Children In Lake Over Husband's Suicide

A mother allegedly drowned her three children in a lake and then killed herself after her husband shot himself to death in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Friday, July 1.

The bodies of Molly Cheng and her three children, 4-year-old Quadrillion Lee, 3-year-old Estella Zoo Siab Lee, and 5-year-old Phoenix Lee, were recovered from the Vadnais Lake in suburban Minneapolis last weekend. The deaths of all three children were ruled homicides. Meanwhile, Cheng's death was ruled to be a suicide by drowning, USA Today reported.

According to officers from Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department, the deaths are being investigated as a triple murder-suicide.

On Friday, July 1, at approximately 10:30 a.m, Cheng called the police and informed them that her 27-year-old husband, Yee Lee, had shot himself to death at their Maplewood home. Following the information, deputies responded to the Rolling Hills Estates Mobile Home Park and found Lee dead from a gunshot wound.

The same afternoon, one of Cheng’s relatives dialed 911 and alerted the officers that Cheng had planned to kill her children and herself. Following this, officers in Maplewood issued a statewide alert to find Cheng and her children.

Deputies eventually tracked Cheng's cellphone to Vadnais-Sucker Lake Regional Park in Vadnais Heights. When the deputies responded to the park, they found Cheng's car in the parking lot and discovered several pairs of kids' shoes and her car keys lying on the east shore of the lake, People reported.

Searchers dived into the lake and recovered all four of the family's bodies after an extensive search for two days over the weekend. Quadrillion was pulled out from Vadnais Lake at around 7:30 p.m. on July 1. Even though deputies tried life-saving measures, he was declared dead by medics. Later, the deputies pulled Phoenix out from the lake at around 12:03 a.m. midnight on July 2. Hours later, Cheng's body was found in the lake at around 10:39 a.m and Estella's was discovered about 20 minutes after that.

The Ramsey County medical examiner determined that Quadrillion and Estella died due to drowning and smothering. Meanwhile, Phoenix's death was determined to be caused by only drowning.

"Our hearts go out to the family, friends, and community impacted by this terrible tragedy," Ramsey County Undersheriff Mike Martin said.

"The sheriff's office is continuing to investigate the circumstances of this incident to provide clarity and closure to the surviving family members," he added.