The KOEHLER Chilldren - Boy/ 9 and Girl/ 6 - Chickasha (I-44 SW of OKC) OK

Chickasha police say a young mother tried to take the lives of her two
small children before trying to kill herself. Thirty-year-old Rebecca
Koehler told police she had been contemplating killing herself and her
children for quite some time because she felt it was the only way to
stay safe from her ex-husband.
Behind the door of motel room number 172 is where a young mother felt
she had no other choice and tried to take her life as well as the lives
of her two small children.
Inside the room of the Chickasha Best Western motel, police found a
suicide note they say Koehler wrote reading, "I'm so tired of living"
and "the only true escape is death."
Authorities say Koehler gave her son and daughter, ages 9 and 6, a
cocktail of pills including sleeping pills and muscle relaxers before
taking some herself.
"She made the statement, 'Take these, and you'll always be with mommy.'
Basically, she didn't force the children to take it, but she encouraged
it," Chickasha Police Department Major Elip Moore said.
Before the drugs took full effect, Koehler's 9-year-old son was able to
make it to the motel's front desk and ask for help after he saw his
mother stumbling around and fall to the floor.
Once emergency crews got there, they found all three in pretty bad shape
and say the mother and her children were so sick from the drugs that
they had been vomiting.
"Even the children couldn't really stand unassisted," Moore said. "They were very groggy and had very poor balance."
"I saw one of the ambulance drivers holding a little boy in his hands
and there were people moving in and out of that room over there,"
witness Johny Lewis said.
On the dash of the family's car was a list of emergency numbers and hot lines.
Koehler admitted she had been thinking about suicide for about a year but could not go through with it until now.
"When there are children involved, there's no excuse," Lewis said. "They
could have called somebody. There are plenty of people here that would
help."
Koehler was released from the hospital Thursday morning.
She was arrested and taken to jail. She is now facing charges of child abuse.
News Channel 4 has also found several protective orders she has filed against her ex-husband.
Koehler's children were placed in DHS custody.

http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-mother-tries-kill-self-kids-story,0,4133893.story