Woman and Infant Died After She Drove Her Car Into River. Now Police Say It Was a Murder-Suicide By Ben Brachfeld

A woman who drove her car into a river in April, killing herself and her infant child, did it intentionally, authorities in Texas now claim.

The woman was driving a Kia SUV in Channelview, Texas, just east of Houston, with her 7, 5 and 1-year-old children in tow when the car veered off the road and plunged into the San Jacinto River on April 25, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on social media.

The two older children were rescued by a Good Samaritan, Gonzalez noted, but the woman and the infant were pronounced dead at the scene.

They had each drowned, and the infant was still strapped into her car seat when discovered, the Houston Chronicle reported. The two older children were taken to the hospital in stable condition, the outlet reported.

Gonzalez said on Thursday, Aug. 28, that the incident had been ruled a murder-suicide, and that the woman had intentionally driven the car into the river. Authorities subsequently found a suicide note in the submerged Kia, Gonzalez said.

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Authorities did not name the deceased mother and child, but the woman’s sister named them as 39-year-old Crystal Hall-Njepu and 1-year-old Annah in a GoFundMe appeal.

Hall-Njepu’s sister, Shannon Jackson, set up the fundraiser to cover funeral costs and support for the surviving children — more than $17,000 has been raised since April.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.