ST. PAUL, Minn. — Next to the shore of Vadnais Lake, where authorities say a mother drowned her three young children, a memorial of stuffed animals, candles and flowers has been growing. Attached to one bouquet is a sign that says, “For the children,” with three hearts drawn on the paper.
The children found in the lake in Vadnais Heights on Friday and Saturday were 3, 4 and 5, officials said Tuesday. The body of their 23-year-old mother, Molly Cheng, also was pulled from the lake. The Ramsey County sheriff’s office said they’re investigating the case as a triple murder-suicide.
Police first made contact with Cheng shortly after 10:30 a.m. Friday, when she reported her husband had shot himself. Officers and firefighters were dispatched to the family’s home in the Rolling Hills of Maplewood mobile home park, off Geneva Avenue.
Cheng told police she witnessed her husband’s death and that their children were aware of the situation, according to Joe Sheeran, Maplewood’s communications manager. As officers investigated, the kids went outside to play with a neighbor.
The Ramsey County medical examiner’s office ruled the death of Yee Lee, 27, was a suicide.
Maplewood police said they arranged for social workers to come to the scene and assist Cheng and her children. “She indicated to us that she was going to be able to cope,” Sheeran said Tuesday.
Around 4 p.m. Friday, a relative of Cheng’s called 911 and reported Cheng was going to kill her children and herself. A Maplewood police lieutenant called Cheng “to try to determine her condition” and she said she was at the Mall of America, according to Sheeran. The lieutenant told Cheng that police would meet her at her home, but she never arrived.
“Maplewood Police issued a statewide alert to ‘attempt to locate and check the welfare’ of Molly Cheng and her children,” the Ramsey County sheriff’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “Law enforcement agencies in the region then began a search and started to track Molly’s cell phone.”
Officers tracked Cheng’s cellphone to the area of Vadnais-Sucker Lake Regional Park in Vadnais Heights about 5:45 p.m. Friday. Deputies found her vehicle parked in a lot at the park at 6 p.m. and began searching. About 20 minutes later, deputies located several pairs of children’s shoes and the vehicle’s keys on the east shore of the lake.
The findings set off “an intense search” on land and water by deputies, officers and firefighters, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies found the body of one of the children, 4-year-old Quadrillion T. Lee, in the lake around 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, just after midnight, 5-year-old Phoenix Lee’s body also was found in Vadnais Lake.
Cheng’s body was found about 10:40 a.m. Saturday and then her daughter, 3-year-old Estella Zoo Siab Lee, around 11 a.m.
The medical examiner’s office determined Quadrillion and Estella died from drowning and smothering, and Phoenix died from drowning; their deaths were ruled homicides. Cheng died by suicide as a result of drowning, the medical examiner’s office determined.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and community impacted by this terrible tragedy,” Undersheriff Mike Martin said in a statement. “The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate the circumstances of this incident to provide clarity and closure to the surviving family members.”
Cheng was listed as the owner of the family’s Maplewood residence. Maplewood police did not have a record of past calls involving the couple.
Cheng wrote on social media that she worked as a tattoo artist, did permanent makeup and was a hair stylist and makeup artist. She posted videos in recent months showing a business being renovated, writing, “I’m getting there.”
Next to the memorial by Vadnais Lake, someone placed a yellow ribbon around a stop sign, alongside a sign that read, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” It included the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline — 800-273-8255.
ThaoMee Xiong, executive and network director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders in St. Paul, said she doesn’t have information about the dynamics in the family’s life, but she said what happened underscores the need to spread the word about resources and services that are available in a variety of languages and that are culturally appropriate.
“If people are not aware of what’s available, it’s harder to know that there is support out there,” she said.
In St. Paul, for example, there is Transforming Generations, a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 when Hmong advocates saw a need for more culturally relevant services for gender-based violence. The organization can be reached at 651-756-1579.
Ramsey County Social Services’ mental health crisis team includes six social workers embedded within three law enforcement agencies, including Maplewood police.
When they’re called, they assess people “for vulnerabilities and risks in the situation,” which includes suicidal and homicidal ideation, said Allison Winters, a county spokeswoman who was speaking generally. They provide services “in a culturally responsive manner,” she said.
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