A Texas woman, Jessica Quintana, 37, is facing charges after allegedly attempting to drown her three children, aged 6, 11, and 15, in a murder-suicide plot last month. According to authorities, Quintana drugged her children with a mixture of Nyquil and tequila before leading them into a pond on their property in Dayton.
On September 29, police were called to the Quintana residence where they found the mother and her three children unresponsive in the water. The Liberty County District Attorney’s office has revealed that Quintana’s initial plan was to leave the family home, but when this plan failed, she allegedly resorted to the deadly plot.
District Attorney Jennifer Bergman stated that Quintana had two plans. “Plan A was to pack their belongings and to leave the residence. Plan B was only to be enacted if they could not leave,” Bergman said. She added, “Thankfully, things did not go as planned and Plan B was not able to be carried out.”
The authorities have not provided details on why Quintana wanted to leave the home or how her initial plan was thwarted. However, they allege that after her plan failed, Quintana instructed her children to drink the alcohol and Nyquil mixture. She then planned to roll them into the pond when they passed out.
B stated that they know the children consumed the substances based on medical and toxicology records and information gathered from witnesses. Quintana’s husband, Domingo Quintana, discovered the horrifying scene and called 911.
When authorities arrived, they found the mother and the 11-year-old child unconscious, while the other two children were in distress. Domingo managed to pull the children from the water before the first responders arrived. Quintana was close to drowning and spent nearly a month in the hospital recovering.
After being discharged from the hospital last Friday, Quintana was taken into custody. The children, who were also hospitalized but have since recovered, are currently in the custody of Child Protective Services. Domingo Quintana, who is facing unrelated animal abuse charges, is not facing any charges related to the alleged murder-suicide plot.
Jessica Quintana has been charged with two counts of injury to a child and one count of attempt to commit aggravated assault.