Killer Mom Makes Shocking Move After Confessing to Killing Kids

A Missouri mother walked into a police. station and calmly told the clerk that. she killed her two young children. A. case so disturbing, which is now more. than a year later, ended in a stunning. legal twist. We are going to break down. the chilling details with a forensic. psychiatrist who offers insight into how. a mental health crisis can erupt without. warning and lead to the unimaginable. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. This is a case that we not only have.

talked about before, but it is one that. has haunted Jefferson County, Missouri. for more than a year. It began on just. an unassuming morning in late May 2024. A morning that would just shake even the. most hearted investigators to their. core. And that is when police say. 38-year-old Ashley Parmaly, a mother of. two, walked into the Fesus police. station and told the front desk clerk. that she had killed her two children, 9-year-old Scarlet Parmaly Dardy and her. 2-year-old son, Isaac Bound. Now, again,

we first brought you this story on. Sidebar when it broke in May of last. year, but this week in a Jefferson. County courtroom, it reached its. conclusion, and it was dramatic. Now, if. you haven't been following every turn in. this case, I'm going to rewind for a. second. So, according to police, on May. 28th, 2024, Parmaly drove her Mazda SUV. into the parking lot of the Fesus Police. Station in Missouri. She parked, she. stepped inside, and calmly told the. clerk that she had killed her children. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshack.

joined us on our initial episode back on. May 31st, 2024, offering just what are. absolutely chilling details about that. morning and the horrifying words Parmley. spoke. Take a listen. Well, obviously. how the case unfolded uh was disturbing. from the onset. Um I think for the uh. officers who continue to investigate uh. they continue to be surprised um at some. of the evil that they're witnessing. Um. and of course our seasoned. investigators, they deal with a lot of.

uh violence. Um but at the same time uh. this was particularly disturbing for our. people and uh continues. uh they're very. passionate about this investigation and. getting to the bottom of it. >> Can you talk to us about how she showed. up to the station and what she said? >> Well, when she arrived uh Tuesday. morning, uh she parked in the parking. lot in her vehicle, casually walked in. uh and approached the clerk. Um, you. know, she was a little disheveled and uh.

some of her clothes were wet, but uh. other than that, you know, according to. the video, when you look at it, just. like a normal person walking into a. business. >> And what did she say? >> Well, she approached the clerk first and. shared that um she had killed her two. children. The clerk immediately ran back. uh to where uh a detective and another. police supervisor were sitting and uh. told them, you know, that this person. just walked into the lobby and claimed. this. Now, from law enforcement circles,

um I don't want to say it's not. uncommon, but you know, because we deal. with so many people with mental health. issues, it's not extremely out of the. ordinary for have to have somebody come. into your law enforcement lobby um who. has a mental health issue or mental. health crisis. So, I think there was. probably some disbelief and questioning. at first. Uh but the officers uh. multiple officers quickly exited uh. including a detective and ran out there. to you know to talk to her and interview.

her to see what was going on. >> Did she give any indication about why. she did this? >> Uh no. And you know, it's too early to. talk about some of those things. You. know, everybody always wants to know the. motive. Um you know, how could this be? Why would this person do these things? Uh and we're careful not to speculate on. that. and and of course we don't want to. disrupt anything uh that the prosecutor. may want to use later. Um and so we're. we're cautious about that. I will share.

with you that during the course of that. interview and you know with multiple. officers she did share that uh the. daughter that she had shot was in the. vehicle. And so one of the officers ran. out to the vehicle to investigate look. in the vehicle and saw uh the small. child that had been shot immediately uh. unlocked the doors and was able to. remove the child, excuse me, into the. parking lot and then start CPR. while. the other officer who happened to be a.

detective started, you know, making. inquiries in terms of where the other. child was. Uh and and that's how, you. know, other law enforcement agencies, including ours, um received the. information to immediately and urgently. uh respond to that location to start. investigating. >> It's so chilling. It's so cold. It's so. disturbing on a number of different. levels. and Scarlet. This little girl. was found in the trunk of Parmeal's. Mazda dead from a gunshot wound. And. then came the second blow. Sheriff's.

deputies acting on Parallel's. information discovered 2-year-old. Isaac's body submerged in a decorative. fountain at Timberlake Creek Resort. This is south of Olympian Village. A. deputy dove in, pulled him out. It was. already too late. Not to take away from. this story in any way, but I know you. guys might be true crime fans, but is. anyone also in a business of some kind? And if so, let me ask you something. How. much time do you think your business. team is just spending in spreadsheets, chasing down receipts, trying to make. sense of endless rows of bank.

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odo.com/sidebaracounting. According to People magazine's review of. the probable cause statement, Paraly. told investigators she had pulled over. in this county and shot Scarlet. And. before that, she said she had tried to. sacrifice Isaac, though exactly what she. meant was kind of unclear. But she. claimed that after shooting Scarlet, Isaac started crying. She drove until. she reached the resort, held her son. underwater in the fountain for 4 to 5. minutes. That is what we're talking. about. And now we have to talk about the.

next stage of this legal case. You might. be guessing where we're going with this. So to help me break down what we're. hearing, I want to bring on a special. guest, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Daniel. Boowber. Doctor, thank you so much for. coming on. This is a horrible case. Based on the details, and obviously you. haven't had an opportunity to review. this firsthand. However, what mental. health conditions. what are you considering? What might be. relevant in understanding Parallel's. actions? Because obviously this is not. the first time you have a mother who is.

accused of killing their children. >> Yeah, this eerily reminds me of the. Andrea Yates case. uh the woman in Texas. who drowned her children. But this is a. case of filicide, a mother killing her. children. And there is a variety of. reasons that this happens. And one of. the most common reasons is something. called altruistic philicide. Meaning. that mom feels that the kids would be. better off without her. Uh and this can. be seen in people who are suffering from.

extreme depression, hopelessness, and. despair. But in the case of Andrea. Yates, she was suffering from postpartum. psychosis. So the question is was Paraly. under some influence of a delusion? Was. she suffering hallucinations? Was she paranoid? There are so many. reasons that this can happen, but. clearly this is someone uh who is. extremely mentally ill uh when this. occurred. >> Yeah. How do you judge between. premeditated versus impulsive?

>> So are there efforts to conceal the. crime? Uh, is there consciousness of. guilt? In this particular case, it seems. like, you know, she was pretty. methodical about it. It didn't all. happen in one scene. This happened in. two different locations. So, it seems. like there was some time for her to. process what was going on. And the fact. that she went to the police station to. essentially confess to what she did. So, you would look at things like that. When. you hear this notion of sacrifice, you.

know, it's one thing to talk about in. any kind of context, but children. sacrifice, how does that factor into. potential psychosis, delusions, symbolic. thinking in cases like this? So in the case of Andrea Yates, interestingly enough, Andrea Yates said. that she killed her children to prevent. them from going to hell, from being sent. to hell. So essentially, she was in her. mind doing something that she believed.

was beneficial to the children, saving. their souls, if you will, and killing. them for that reason. So it was a. killing that happened for a delusional. reason uh under the influence of. psychosis. H. By the way, I I I I don't even know. how to even say this, but are there. warning signs in a parent's behavior. that might indicate that their charge. their children are at harm? I'm not. talking about abuse cases where there's. obviously signs on the children and CPS.

is called. I'm talking about something. like this. This is next level. Is there. any time you should someone should be on. lookout for warning signs, red flags? So, there's some obvious things, you. know, did she have a history of mental. illness? Was she under the care of a. psychiatrist? Was she supposed to be. taking medication that she wasn't. taking? Was this something that. spontaneously arose out of nowhere? Or. was there a long-standing history of. mental illness? My guess is that there. was probably something leading up to. this and it would have been apparent or.

it should have been apparent to the. people that were closest to her and that. spent the most time with her. Now, of. course, when people isolate themselves. and they're not near their social. support network, um, very often, you. know, we don't see this coming uh. because there's no one that's watching. So, the question is, who were the people. that were closest to her that were. spending time with her? And was there. any prior history of this before this. occurred? Does the calm way that she reported this. crime, just casually strolling into the.

police station, does that give you. insight into her psychological state at. all? Not solely by itself, but I think when. you see someone who very calmly. confesses that, uh, normally you would. think that's something that's pretty. horrifying. So the sort of the mood of. the person when they're confessing, it. seems to be in congruent with the act. itself. So that, you know, taken with. the totality of everything else, you. know, would fit with someone who was. mentally ill, uh, when this happened.

>> Now, there had been concerns about. Ashley Parmeal's mental health. And as. it turns out, there was a chilling sign. that something was very wrong. It. appeared just before the murders, hours. before these killings. According to. First Alert 4, in the hours leading up. to her children's deaths, Paraly quietly. changed her Facebook profile picture to. a solid black screen. And it wasn't the. first time her social media hinted at in. her struggles because the outlet reports. that back in 2020, Paraly had posted. openly about her battle with depression.

The poster reviewed said, "I isolated. myself. I came off as very timid and. unfriendly, and in all reality, I needed. a friend more than anything, always. questioning if the kids would be happier. or better off without me being their. primary caregiver because I knew that. they deserved a much better role model.". Dr. Bober, how does that factor into the. analysis? you have a sudden change to a. black profile picture, discussions uh. about struggles on social media. What do. you take away from that? >> So, I think it's like what I said,

extreme despair, hopelessness, feeling. unfit, feeling unable to handle these. kids, feeling that they deserved more. And this goes into what I said about. altruism. In other words, I'm going to. take these kids out because they deserve. a better life, a life without me, because this is clearly something that. I'm not up to the task for, and I'm not. going to be able to give them the life. that that they deserve. So, they're. better off not here. Why post it on. social media? Is it a cry for help? >> I think it is a cry for help. And I. think this happens a lot with people who. suffer from depression. And.

unfortunately, in this generation, you. know, we're so focused on what's going. on on our phones, sometimes we're not. looking around at the people that are. suffering. And these things fall by the. wayside. They slip through the cracks. And I think this was a cry for help. I. think she was searching, looking, desperate for anyone that would maybe. make contact with her and try to figure. out how they could help her. So Paraly. was initially charged with one count of. firstdegree murder for Scarlet's death. and one count of seconddegree murder for. Isaac's, but then WHSV reported the.

prosecutors upgraded that charge to. first-degree murder. So now Ashley. Parmaly was staring down two counts of. murder plus one count of armed criminal. action. And if she was convicted, the. stakes couldn't have been higher. We're. talking death or life in prison without. the possibility of parole for each. murder charge. And the weapons charge, that's an additional 3 to 15 years. behind bars. But in February 2025, so. several months ago, KSDK reported a. major shift. Parallel's attorney, Patrick Auststerman, announced that she.

would plead not guilty by reason of. mental disease or defect. We're talking. about insanity. So that set in motion a. long and meticulous process under. Missouri law. The court ordered a mental. health evaluation not by state. employees, but by independent forensic. examiners. And what did they find? At. the time of the killings, Paraly could. not understand the wrongfulness of her. actions. The Missouri Department of. Mental Health was then brought in for a. second opinion and they came to the.

exact same conclusion. And that leads us. to yesterday morning, August 13th. After. more than a year of investigation, grief, court battles, Ashley Parmaly. stood before the judge, entered her plea. of not guilty by reason of insanity, and. was ordered committed to the Department. of Mental Health. There is no set term. There is no release date. Her attorney. called the case an unimaginable tragedy, released a statement saying, "It is very. difficult for many to believe that a. sudden mental health crisis could affect. such a loving, caring mother in this.

way, seemingly out of nowhere. But that. is exactly what happened. There is. complete consensus that at the time of. this incident, Ashley was responding to. delusions and hallucinations that caused. her to believe that what she was doing. was protecting and saving her beloved. children. It was never her intention to. hurt them. The medication Ashley now. takes provides her with a great deal of. clarity, but that clarity means that. Ashley will have to live the rest of her. life knowing what happened and feeling. responsible despite multiple doctors. agreeing that this was not her fault. There can be no silver lining in a.

situation like this. We can only hope. that in the future there will be greater. community recognition regarding the. realities of mental illness. While many. more services are still needed, there. are now more community-based resources. for mental health support than ever. before. Okay, Dr. Brober, a lot to get. into here. What is your takeaway from. that conclusion from two separate sets. of mental health professionals. >> in the state of Missouri? They use. what's called the Mcnotton standard and. it basically says that if someone is. suffering from a mental disease or. defect and they're incapable of knowing. and appreciating the nature, quality or.

wrongfulness of their conduct that they. may be found not criminally responsible. When someone is found not criminally. responsible, they are committed to the. Department of Mental Health, as you. said, for an indefinite period of time, and they will stay there until it is. deemed that they are both not mentally. ill and no longer dangerous. So, I think. this was the right outcome in this case. Now, a lot of people are uncomfortable. with this. This is something that people.

have been talking about for decades, especially since the attempted. assassination of President Reagan, where. a lot of these laws were changed, but. they are rarely used and even less. rarely granted. But I think in this. case, the right thing happened. Let's be. clear about something. Someone could go. into a certain state where they're. having this manic episode. They can't. appreciate the wrongfulness of their. actions, and then they can come out of. it. How quickly can that trigger? How. quickly can that can you come off of it? How does that happen exactly? because as. you heard her attorney says there's a. misunderstanding about mental illness.

about how you can be in that state for a. limited period of time. Talk to us about. that. >> So not everyone who is mentally ill at. the time they committed a crime is not. deemed criminally responsible. For. example, competency is a present skill. Is the person competent to proceed now? Do they understand the charges against. them? Can they work with their attorney? Whereas criminal responsibility, we look. at their state of mind at the time of. the crime. So how do we know what that. was? We talk to the people that they. came into contact with. We look at their. mental health records, any previous or.

recent mental health contacts. Were they. taking their medication? Were there. signs, social media posts, for example, that showed their state of mind at the. time? So, that's how we evaluate what. their state of mind was during the time. of the offense. And that is how we come. to this conclusion. >> And what will the subject remember of. that episode? Typically, >> sometimes they won't. Sometimes they. will have no recall. Sometimes under the. influence of a delusion or. hallucinations, and I've seen this in my.

own patients who have been hospitalized, they will have no recall of the event. It really depends on the person and the. type of mental illness that they're. suffering from. What's the examination. like? How do they determine whether or. not somebody was insane at that moment. in time? How do they really do it? What. are the questions they ask? What are the. factors they look at? >> So, they'll receive a full psychiatric. evaluation, a number of interviews. We'll look at medical problems in their. past. For example, uh is there evidence. of a brain injury? Is there evidence of.

seizures? Is there a tumor? We'll look. at their laboratory studies, blood, liver, kidneys, thyroid, all these. things. We want to rule out anything. medical. And then of course, you know, we will interview them several times and. go through a comprehensive evaluation. where we'll ask them questions about. their childhood, about their past. psychiatric history, about their social. history, uh any prior treatment, have. they been taking medication? All these. things factor into it. >> And what is the treatment plan now for. her? And could she ever be released?

>> She could be released. Uh and most. likely she's receiving psychiatric. medication and therapy. And again, there. could be a time where she is released, but the burden of proof will be on her. and the Department of Mental Health to. show the court why again she is no. longer mentally ill and no longer. dangerous for her to be released. Now, there is one more piece to this story, a. legal battle that unfolded alongside the. criminal case. So, Scarlet's father,

Jason Doherty, filed a wrongful death. lawsuit against Ashley Paraly on. November 5th, 2024, seeking $33 million. in damages. Dherty is Scarlet's father. He's not Isaac's, but court records. indicate that the two were locked in a. six-year long custody battle from about. 2015 all the way until 2021. Dy's. wrongful death petition reads, quote, "On May 28th, 2024, defendant murdered. the deedent in St. Francois County, Missouri by shooting the defendant with. a firearm. Defendant is charged with.

murdering deedent. Decedent's death was. caused by defendants's actions. It was. defendant's intentional criminal and. illegal conduct that caused the death of. deedent. As a direct improximate cause. of defendants's actions, plaintiff has. suffered and will continue to suffer. damages including but not limited to. funeral expenses and the reasonable. value of the services, consortium, companionship, comfort, instruction, guidance, counsel, training and support. and loss wages. Wherefore plain of. praise this court enters judgment in his. favor and against defendant for a.

reasonable sum of money damages in. excess of $3 million for his cost in. pursuing this action for interests as. allowed by law and for such other and. further relief as the court may deem. just and proper. So when Dory filed the. lawsuit there were court records that. showed Parmaly had until December 5th to. respond. Now she didn't. Now, the very. next day, December 6th, Dory filed for a. default judgment. And by December 30th, the judge granted it. Basically, when. somebody doesn't respond, they lose. automatically. So, by December 30th, the.

judge granted it, awarding him the full. $3 million settlement. So, Dr. Bober, if. we're talking about a diagnosis of. insanity in or or a legal conclusion of. insanity in a criminal context, typically, how do you see that play out. in the civil arena? Because you and I. both know that when it comes to the. death of someone, many times you have. the criminal case and then you will have. the civil case. Well, you know, I think. about the OJ Simpson case, right? He was.

found not guilty in the criminal case. but was found responsible in the civil. case. So this is a similar situation but. I think if you're parmally the last. thing you're thinking about right now is. the judgment on this civil case uh. because she's probably going to be. confined to the department of mental. health for years. So I don't even know. that he'll have any realistic chance of. collecting on that judgment. I don't. know what her financial situation is, but I'm not an attorney, so I don't know. the implications. Obviously, in civil.

court, the a standard is by a. prepoundonderance of the evidence, but. so I don't really understand or know the. implications of that from her defending. herself in a civil suit. >> Let me ask you this. Do mental health. professionals generally testify in in a. wrongful death case? Has it happened? Have you done it before? >> Yes, they can. For example, if you're. suing for post-traumatic stress. disorder, yes, mental health. professionals can testify. >> Okay. By the way, by the way, just. talking about the surviving parent,

right? The one who is now left to. grapple with the loss of their child. from a death that was caused that this. child was killed by their wife, their. their girlfriend, their husband, their. boyfriend, whatever it may be. My gosh, what is that journey like for. that person? >> Oh, I think it's a lifetime of imagine I. think it's a lifetime of unimaginable. suffering. Things will never return to.

normal. There will be a new normal. There will be a constant reminder that. this happened. You know, every birthday, every anniversary, all these things that. they'll have to deal with for the rest. of their life. It's just a horrible. loss. And it's even worse. It's even. compounded by the fact that it happened. in such a horrific manner. According to. his obituary in the leader news, Isaac. was a fun-loving boy who loved playing. in water, especially at the creek or in. the shower. He also enjoyed playing with. his cars, throwing stuff, picking up any. stick he could find, and running around.

in his diaper. And then there's his big. sister, Scarlet, who had a sparkle all. her own. Her teacher, Abby Tinnan, shared in a Facebook post she could. carry on a conversation with just about. anyone. At the end of the year, the. award I chose for her was the squirrel. award because of her ability to gather. people up who needed a friend and make. them feel included. So, two lives full. of joy, connection, promise, now frozen. in memory. Dr. Daniel Bober, thank you. so much for taking the time. Appreciate. it. >> Thank you, Jesse. >> Hey guys, real quick little programming.

alert. I want to let you know that. actually tonight on News Nation at 8:00. p.m. Eastern, I'm going to be hosting. Quuomo. I hope you can tune in. We might. actually take calls from viewers. So if. you have questions about the true crime. cases that we're covering here on. Sidebar, would love to talk to you about. it. But again, tune in tonight, 8:00 PM. Eastern. I'll be hosting Cuomo. See you. then on NewsNation. And that's all we. have for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining. us. And as always, please subscribe on. YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm. Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next.

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