Mother emails to say “goodbyes” and shoots three daughters and herself to death
DE SOTO • A woman apparently
fatally shot her three daughters with a shotgun, then shot and killed
herself outside the home of her ex-boyfriend, authorities say, St, Louis Post-Dispatch reported
Authorities believe Lisa R. Cochran, 32, shot each of her daughters — Alyssa Cochran, 11, Autumn Cochran, 10, and Faith Ehlen, 22 months — in the head. They were found in Cochran’s vehicle outside the ex-boyfriend’s home, south of De Soto. She then shot and killed herself near the steps to the home.
Sheriff Oliver “Glenn” Boyer said Cochran sent an email to her family members, friends and ex-boyfriend Wednesday night that indicated she was considering murder-suicide. She “couldn’t take it any more,” according to the email.
The subject line of the email was “goodbye,” Boyer said.
The email was sent just before 8 p.m. It wasn’t yet clear when Cochran and her children died, and Boyer said there was no indication any of the email’s recipients read it in time to do anything.
Near Cochran’s body, authorities found a 12-gauge shotgun she had purchased at a Walmart in Arnold on Aug. 29.
“That information, the purchase of the shotgun and compiling everything we have so far, leads us to believe we’re dealing with a murder-suicide and not a homicide,” Boyer said.
The woman’s estranged boyfriend, Christopher Ehlen, was questioned as a witness by police. The crime scene is at his home at Vineland and Wilson Hollow roads, where he told deputies he came home to find Cochran’s vehicle parked in his driveway about 12:30 this morning.
Cochran got a restraining order against Ehlen on Aug. 13. Ehlen didn’t want to get in trouble for being near her, so he backed away from the home and called for a deputy, Boyer said.
Authorities arrived and found the three girls and their mother dead.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 38 years, and unfortunately I’ve have had to witness a couple of these incidents similar to this, and this was just as horrific as anything I’ve seen in my 38 years,” Boyer said.
Ehlen was the father of the youngest child. Cochran was divorced from another man, the father of the older children.
The street leading to the crime scene was blocked by deputies this morning. The area is near the Washington County line.
Cochran had lived with Ehlen for a time, but recently was living elsewhere with relatives.
Boyer said they interviewed Ehlen extensively and he was cooperative. Authorities are still investigating, he said.
Authorities believe Lisa R. Cochran, 32, shot each of her daughters — Alyssa Cochran, 11, Autumn Cochran, 10, and Faith Ehlen, 22 months — in the head. They were found in Cochran’s vehicle outside the ex-boyfriend’s home, south of De Soto. She then shot and killed herself near the steps to the home.
Sheriff Oliver “Glenn” Boyer said Cochran sent an email to her family members, friends and ex-boyfriend Wednesday night that indicated she was considering murder-suicide. She “couldn’t take it any more,” according to the email.
The subject line of the email was “goodbye,” Boyer said.
The email was sent just before 8 p.m. It wasn’t yet clear when Cochran and her children died, and Boyer said there was no indication any of the email’s recipients read it in time to do anything.
Near Cochran’s body, authorities found a 12-gauge shotgun she had purchased at a Walmart in Arnold on Aug. 29.
“That information, the purchase of the shotgun and compiling everything we have so far, leads us to believe we’re dealing with a murder-suicide and not a homicide,” Boyer said.
The woman’s estranged boyfriend, Christopher Ehlen, was questioned as a witness by police. The crime scene is at his home at Vineland and Wilson Hollow roads, where he told deputies he came home to find Cochran’s vehicle parked in his driveway about 12:30 this morning.
Cochran got a restraining order against Ehlen on Aug. 13. Ehlen didn’t want to get in trouble for being near her, so he backed away from the home and called for a deputy, Boyer said.
Authorities arrived and found the three girls and their mother dead.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 38 years, and unfortunately I’ve have had to witness a couple of these incidents similar to this, and this was just as horrific as anything I’ve seen in my 38 years,” Boyer said.
Ehlen was the father of the youngest child. Cochran was divorced from another man, the father of the older children.
The street leading to the crime scene was blocked by deputies this morning. The area is near the Washington County line.
Cochran had lived with Ehlen for a time, but recently was living elsewhere with relatives.
Boyer said they interviewed Ehlen extensively and he was cooperative. Authorities are still investigating, he said.
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