'No one knew the depths of her problem': The devoted mother who shot dead her three daughters before killing herself after battle with depression

• Police say Christine Adewunmi, 37, shot her three daughters in the head before shooting herself on Saturday

• Husband called police Friday evening to report them missing

• He said she had previously taken the girls and lied about her whereabouts

• Computer showed records of searches about suicide and depression

By Meghan Keneally - DailyMail.co.uk

March 20, 2012

The Missouri mother who shot her three daughters before killing herself had recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression.

After investigating the scene and talking to relatives, police confirmed that they believe Christine Adewunmi was the one to kill her three daughters- Lauren, 8, Samantha, 6, and Kate, 3.

‘We are confident this was a triple-murder/suicide, with the mother doing the shooting,’ Crawford County sheriff Randy Martin said.

Pictures of Christine, her husband Leonard Adewunmi, and their three beautiful girls show the loving family that neighbors were familiar with.

The stay-at-home mom and former physical education teacher was known for taking the girls to the park and playing with them often in the family’s yard.

Inside, however, she was battling demons that even her own family cannot grasp.

‘Depression is difficult to understand and a serious illness that is hard to comprehend,’ they said in a statement following the discovery of the four bodies on Saturday afternoon.

‘No one knew the depths of her problem or could ever foresee this tragedy occurring. We cannot understand why this happened and are dealing with this tragic loss one minute at a time.’

Their neighbour Jeff Melching told Fox News: 'There was no indication of any problems. They were talking to me like normal neighbours would when you meet somebody for the first time.'

Leonard Adewunmi knew that something was wrong Friday night when he came home from work and his wife and children were missing, and he immediately reported it to police.

While talking to police, he told them that he feared she may be suicidal as a result of her bipolar diagnosis and depression.

He had taken Christine to Mercy Hospital for an evaluation on Thursday- the day before she disappeared with the girls- and she had decided that she would check herself in for treatment on Friday.

Christine's sister Debbie Van Deven told a local CBS affiliate of Christine's planned treatment, and she said that Leonard may not have known of that schedule.

When police searched the family's home computer during the missing persons investigation, they found a number of searches on how to kill yourself and information about depression.

Leonard said that she had previously left with their daughters twice before but had returned, although she lied about her whereabouts each time.

He tried calling his wife’s cell phone more than 25 times, according to local newspaper St Louis Today.

Around 1pm the next day, a guest at Blue Springs Ranch discovered the bodies along a gravel road. A handgun was also discovered nearby.

Mr Martin said the four victims were not guests at the campground, located near the Meramec River, although the mother's vehicle was found in the vicinity.

Now the community is left to come to grips with the tragic turn of events.

The three girls were all enrolled in local public school, Oak Brook Elementary, and letters have been sent to their fellow students informing them of the news as the district is currently on spring break.

In the meantime, Mr Adewunmi, who the family called an ‘involved and caring dad’ in their statement, will ‘miss cooking with Lauren, playing soccer with Sammi, and singing to Kate’.

St. Louis County woman in murder-suicide had battled depression

By Stephen Deere - Stltoday.com

March 19, 2012

The St. Louis County woman suspected of killing her three girls before fatally shooting herself was a "loving and devoted mother" but had battled depression, according to her family.

"No one knew the depths of her problem or could ever foresee this tragedy occurring," the family of Christine Adewunmi said in a statement released this afternoon. "We cannot understand why this has happened and are dealing with this tragic loss one minute at a time."

The three girls and their mother were found dead Saturday at the Meramec River near Bourbon, Mo. Police have called the case a murder-suicide.

Christine Adwunmi had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, her husband told police.

Leonard Adewunmi contacted county police on Friday night to report that his wife and their three children were missing. He said they were asleep at their home on Arbor Bluff Circle in west St. Louis County when he left for work early Friday morning.  But when he returned at 6 p.m., they were gone, according to the missing person report.

Adewunmi told police that he tried to reach his wife more than 25 times on her cellphone, to no avail.

Leonard Adewunmi feared his wife was suicidal and said she had been looking at websites about depression and suicide, according to the police report. She had recently seen a therapist and had been referred to a hospital for evaluation, the report said.

He also told police that his wife had left with the kids on two other occasions and had lied about where they went.

Crawford County Sheriff Randy E. Martin said investigators from his office and the Highway Patrol confirmed that Christine Adewunmi fired the fatal shots. Their bodies were found near the family SUV, which was parked at the dead end of a gravel road leading to the river, he said.

"We are confident this was a triple-murder/suicide, with the mother doing the shooting," Martin said.

Martin said investigators are talking with family members to determine why Christine Adewunmi, 37, drove her daughters to such a remote location, and why she would have killed them. He said the shots were fired from a handgun, but he declined to more specific about the weapon.

Martin said her body was found with those of her three children, Lauren, 8, Samantha, 6, and Kate, 3.

The bodies were discovered about 1 p.m. Saturday near Blue Springs Ranch, which provides camping, horseback riding and float trips on the Meramec River. A woman who answered the phone at the campground said the Adewunmis were not staying at the campground.

Martin said the gravel road is in a remote part of the property, away from the campground.

Christine Adewunmi graduated from Kirkwood High School with the maiden name of Pannett.

She was a physical education teacher at Parkway North from December 1998 to June 2006. Her daughters attended Oak Brook Elementary in the Parkway School District. The family's statement says she "spent the last nine years making her children the number one priority in her life."

Oak Brook Principal Chris Shirley sent parents a letter via email on Sunday night notifiying them about the deaths. Lauren was a second-grader and Samantha was in first grade. The youngest, Kate, was involved with the school as a preschooler and through the parent-child interaction program.

The school is on spring break this week. When students return, there will be additional support to help them, staff and parents process their feelings and grief, Shirley said in the letter. The principal also included resources for parents to help talk to their kids about death.

Leonard Adewunmi told St. Louis County police that his wife had first disappeared about three weeks ago, prompting him to call police, but she returned shortly afterward. She did so again last Tuesday but again returned, according to the police report.

Leonard Adewunmi, 42, is listed on the business networking website LinkedIn as a managing partner of CRI Commercial Properties, described as owning and managing several apartment and commercial units in the St. Louis area.

The family's statement calls him an "involved and caring dad" who "worked very hard to give his wife and children a wonderful life."

Tim O'Neil, Jessica Bock and Christine Byers of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Christine Adewunmi was battling mental illness according to police

By Courtney Gousman - Ksdk.com

March 19, 2012

St. Louis County (KSDK) - NewsChannel 5 is learning a lot more about what could have lead a St. Louis County mother to kill her three daughters, and then herself.

A missing person's report filed by the husband and father of the victims details Christine Adewunmi's battle with mental illness. It paints a troubled mental history for the 37-year-old mother.

Investigators say Christine shot her three girls, 8-year-old Lauren, 6-year-old Samantha, and 3-year-old Kate, before taking her own life. Their bodies were discovered Saturday at a campground outside of Bourbon, Missouri.

The coroner says all four victims had a single gunshot to the head, from a nine millimeter handgun. The coroner believes the victims died sometime Friday afternoon, but weren't discovered until Saturday.

We learned from the Parkway School District that before she became a mother, Christine Adewunmi was a physical education teacher at Parkway North High School in Creve Coeur from 1998 through 2006.

Adewunmi also taught health classes and was a coach for the girl's track and softball teams.

During her high school days, she was known as Christine Pannett, a 1993 graduate of Kirkwood High.

It was recently that Adewunmi was battling problems with her mental health. According to a missing persons report filed by her husband Friday evening, the wife and mother had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was dealing with depression.

Her husband also cited two other occasions in recent weeks when Christine disappeared with the kids. It happened as recently as last Tuesday.

In the police report, the husband and father also called his wife suicidal, and believed she had been searching for ways to kill herself on the internet.

The husband told police he took his wife, to Mercy Hospital to be evaluated on Thursday. Christine told her sister she was planning to admit herself for treatment on Friday.

Credit card statements obtained by investigators show Christine and her daughters ate at a Sullivan, Missouri McDonald's just before 11:30 Friday morning.

Investigators believe Christine Adewumni purchased the gun used and found the box in the family SUV.

Rachel Crowe works for the St. Louis Crisis Nursery. The nursery's mission is short-term care for children when families are going through a crisis.

"We have a 24 hour help line that has an intake counselor ready to talk to anybody who may be in need of some support. It's amazing what just reaching out and talking to a person can do," said Crowe.

The following is a statement NewsChannel 5 received from the family of Christine Adewunmi:
"It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that we release this statement about Christine, Lauren, Samantha and Kate Adewunmi. This is a very challenging time for the family and friends and we appreciate all the support, prayers and love.

"Christine Adewunmi was a loving and devoted mother. She spent the last 9 years making her children the number one priority in her life - going to the park, taking them on vacations, playing in the yard and making sure they had a good childhood.

"Christine was battling depression. Family, friends and professionals were supporting her recovery and stood by her side as she coped with the debilitating disease. Depression is difficult to understand and a serious illness that is hard to comprehend. No one knew the depths of her problem or could ever foresee this tragedy occurring. We cannot understand why this has happened and are dealing with this tragic loss one minute at a time. We firmly believe the Christine we knew and loved would never intentionally hurt her children.

"As the days go on, we pray for Leonard Adewunmi as he deals with this horrible loss. He is a proud and loving father of his three smart, beautiful and talented little girls. As an involved and caring dad, he will miss cooking with Lauren, playing soccer with Sammi, and singing to Kate. Leonard is a devout Catholic and family man that worked very hard to give his wife and children a wonderful life. Please respect his privacy as he has just lost his entire family.