Four Chinese Adoptees K‌i‌lle‌‌d in a M‌u‌r‌d‌er-S‌u‌ic‌id‌e By Mother in Tennessee

 

Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland revealed at a press conference that investigators believed the 55-year-old mother, Cynthia Collier, took the lives of her four adopted Chinese children, identified as 14-year-old Bo Li, 14-year-old Meigin Lin, 15-year-old Lia Lin, and 17-year-old Kaileigh Lin, before taking her own life, WSMV reported.

The vic‌tim‌s’ bo‌‌di‌e‌s were found in multiple areas around their Columbia, Tennessee home by another family member who returned from work around 6 p.m. on Monday. Two fir‌ear‌ms were recovered from the scene of the cr‌i‌m‌e.

Investigators are still trying to determine the motive behind the m‌u‌‌rde‌r-s‌u‌ici‌d‌e on according to Tennessean.

 

“This appears to be a loving home,” Rowland said at the press conference. “It’s an immaculate home and a very loving family. So a motive would be very important to know what would lead someone to do this to her loved ones.”

In the court document, investigators discovered that Collier was married to Randall Collier since 1982, but the couple had been unofficially separated since at least 2007. It was said that the man had not lived in the property since 2009.

Their seven children – which includes the four victims as well as three others – gave their sworn affidavits in the divorce filings.

Court documents also showed that Collier and the children moved from Franklin to Columbia within the past few years. In the statements provided by the children in the divorce filings, the four teenagers had asked to move with their the mother, citing that they did not know the father well. Meanwhile, the three adult children noted having an uneasy relationship with the father while living with him prior to the separation.

Both the Colliers were in divorce proceedings this past spring, but they asked for the case to be dismissed by the end of May as they attempt to reconcile, according to the court documents.

“I’d ask our community to lift the rest of this family and friends up in prayer and remember those and be respectful of the family as well because they’re victims in this. Of course, they’re going to have to deal and learn how to deal with this and how to live life without their loved ones,” Rowland said.

Featured Image via YouTube / KGET News