Two children of three and five years old were found dead together with their mother by New Orleans police officers. The discovery was made around 8:30 AM near Grant Street, on Old Gentilly Road. The bodies, showing gunshot wounds were found in an SUV.
On May 14 New Orleans police officers from different districts of the city and other agencies were involved in locating Michelle McCullum, a disturbed mother who was together with her two children before she could do any harm to herself or the young children. But their efforts were in vain.
The bodies were discovered inside a dark blue SUV parked in a desolate and swampy industrial area in eastern New Orleans. After she shot her two children the woman used the .40-caliber gun and committed suicide.
It seems that Michelle McCullum was facing marital problems and also had troubles in her career. Her family refused to give any details and asked for privacy. 59-year-old Rick Mathieu, a neighborhood of the McCullum’s family said that he was shocked to hear about this tragedy. He described the woman as being very smart and did not suspect that she was going through such difficult times.
Mathieu said that the two children, the 5-year-old boy Caden and the 3-year-old girl Cylie were fantastic. Caden attended a private nursery school and he was a little genius according to the neighbor. He was so smart that he was able to have a real conversation with an adult. He was passionate about dancing and playing sport such as basketball and football. And his younger sister, Cylie, was just at the beginning and coming into her own.
Michelle Harrison, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent declared:
“The victim had been having some problems and made that known to other members of the family, and at some point last night stated that she had been feeling homicidal and suicidal. She stated that she was armed with a firearm and had intended to take the lives of her children and her own life.”
The police started searching for the woman after they had received a call from her mother at around 12:30 AM in which she said that her daughter was carrying a gun and was suicidal. The police worked with outside agencies trying to locate the woman through her cell phone, but she had turned off the device. The car was discovered by a diesel mechanic of Richard’s Disposal Inc. who checked the car which was parked near the company’s office and work yards.
Image Source: CBS46