‘Carried Out ‘Plan B’: Texas Mother Gives Children NyQuil and Tequila, Then Tries to Drown Them After Plan to Escape $3M Mansion Fails, Police Say
Texas authorities are working to learn what drove a mother to attempt to murder her children last month by drugging and drowning them before killing herself. According to police, 39-year-old Jessica Quintana was arrested and charged with multiple felonies for the murder-suicide plot, according to multiple local news outlets. The Liberty County District Attorney's Office said deputies were called to Quintana's sprawling and isolated rural estate on Sept. 29, where they found Quintana unresponsive in a pond alongside her three children, ages 15, 11 and 6, KHOU reported. Jessica Quintana was arrested after her murder-suicide plot failed. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/KHOU 11) Investigators learned that Quintana intentionally gave her children tequila and NyQuil before entering the water with them. Only the 11-year-old girl was found unresponsive and in critical condition. The other children were conscious but in distress. Quintana's husband and the children's father, 61-year-old Domingo Quintana, pulled the kids from the water. Quintana and all three children have since fully recovered from the incident. According to an arrest affidavit cited by KTRK, Quintana's eldest child told detectives that her mother had made two plans to try to leave the home with her children. "Plan A" was to pack their belongings and leave the residence. "Plan B," the murder-suicide, would only be carried out if they could not leave the home successfully. The day before the drowning attempt, Quintana tried to execute "Plan A," but failed. "Therefore, on the morning, the early wee morning, of Sept. 29, Ms. Quinanta carried out 'Plan B.' She instructed the children to drink a mix of alcohol and Nyquil, and she would roll them into the water once they were knocked out," Liberty County District Attorney Jennifer Bergman said. "We know they consumed these substances based upon medical and toxicology records and information from witnesses." Capt. David Meyers with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office previously said investigators believe "they pretty much went into the water together, and based on the evidence we have, the intent was that they would drown and not wake up." Quintana and her children spent weeks in the hospital recovering. After being released from the hospital, the three children were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, who later placed them in the care of other family members. Neither parent is allowed contact with the children at this time, but Meyers said that Quintana has expressed a desire to be reunited with them. Authorities have not released details on why Quintana wanted to escape the home, including whether domestic abuse prompted Quintana to hatch the deadly escape plan. Prosecutors said the incident is still under investigation. Domingo Quintana was charged in an unrelated case with animal abuse. He was not charged in the murder-suicide plot. Jessica Quintana faces one count of attempted aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to a family member with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and two counts of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, both first-degree felonies.
