Liberty Co. mom allegedly told kids to drink Nyquil and alcohol, planned to roll them into lake

Court docs reveal new details after Liberty Co. mom charged

Court documents reveal shocking new details in the case of a Liberty County mother who has been charged with injury to child after her three kids were hospitalized.

LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas - Liberty County court documents reveal more tragic details in connection with the mother who has been charged with injury to a child after her three kids were hospitalized last month.

According to court documents, she allegedly told the children to drink Nyquil and alcohol until they felt "fuzzy" and then planned to roll them into the lake.

Jessica Quintana, 39, was placed in custody on Friday morning after she was released from the hospital nearly a month after the incident. She is charged with two counts of injury to a child causing bodily injury and assault causing bodily injury.

What happened on Sept. 29 in Dayton?

Deputies respond to Dayton home

Court documents claim Jessica's husband and the father of the children called 911 on Sept. 29 to report his family in a pond and said it was a "suicide thing."

When deputies from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office arrived, they reported finding Jessica in the pond in the front yard unresponsive. Her three kids were also around the bank of the pond. The 11-year-old was lying on her side unresponsive, the 15-year-old was sitting on the bank, unable to move but responding to authorities, and the 6-year-old was sitting on the bank.

According to court documents, the 15-year-old told deputies their mother made them drink alcohol and Nyquil.

Jessica and the 11-year-old were taken to Memorial Hermann by Life Flight and intubated. The other two kids were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Investigators who remained at the scene of the pond, reported finding three empty NyQuil bottles, one bottle with a little liquid in it, an empty Mucinex box and Mucinex pills, a small suitcase with clothes, a flashlight, and a nearly empty bottle of 1800 Tequila.

Kids recount events

Court documents state the 15-year-old told investigators their mother came up with "Plan A" and "Plan B" to get away from their father. According to her, their mother planned the whole thing months ago.

The teen reported that Plan A was to get clothes and leave the home, but Plan B was to "end it all if they could not get away." The 15-year-old reportedly told authorities that the mother and kids packed a bag and tried to leave the home on Sept. 28 but were stopped by the father. The next day, Jessica reportedly came back to the kids and told them to get their clothes. According to court documents, the four walked outside with a bottle of Vodka and Nyquil.

The 15-year-old reportedly told authorities it was Jessica's idea to drink vodka and NyQuil because she was tired of suffering. Jessica allegedly told the kids the alcohol and medicine would knock the kids out, and she would roll them into the lake, according to the 15-year-old's account.

The 6-year-old boy was also interviewed by investigators. According to court documents, he told them that they had drank NyQuil, and that his mom said when they went to sleep they wouldn't feel anything. He reportedly told investigators they were all in the water together.

Mother interviewed by investigators

Jessica was interviewed by authorities at the hospital. According to court documents, she stated that she and her husband had been having problems, and he had taken her phone away. She told investigators that she decided to leave on Sept. 28 and went to the car with the kids, but it was locked and her husband had the keys.

According to court documents, she then got Nyquil and vodka and took it to the pond, where she and the three kids sat on the bank. She allegedly told them to start drinking little by little, and gave the youngest child juice and Nyquil.

"Jessica told her kids to keep drinking until they felt fuzzy and then they would go into the lake," court documents state.

She allegedly told investigators that they were all sitting on the bank next to each other, and that was the last thing she remembered.

Additional findings

According to court documents, medical tests showed that the 11-year-old had a BAC of .125 and a level of 21.8 acetaminophen, the 15-year-old had a BAC of .187 and no acetaminophen, and the 6-year-old had a level of 28.1 acetaminophen in their systems.

DA dispels rumors

Liberty County District Attorney Jennifer Bergman held a press conference Monday to provide an update on the case and dispel rumors that have circulated on social media in the weeks since the incident.

Bergman says the charges against the mother come after a thorough investigation by the Liberty County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers.

"Our office has reviewed the evidence carefully and is confident the facts fully support the charges that have been filed in this case," Bergman said.

"There has been a great deal of speculation and misinformation surrounding this case. We're holding the press conference today to dispel those rumors and to provide the public with accurate, verified information. Every decision in this case has been guided solely by the evidence, not by rumors, speculation or social media commentary," she said.

One rumor she addressed in particular was surrounding the suspension of Liberty Police Department Lt. Ramiro Lozano. The City of Liberty confirmed that Lozano was suspended after visiting the victims’ father in jail after the father was arrested on an unrelated animal cruelty charge. Bergman stressed that Lozano was not employed by the sheriff's office and was not associated with the investigation in any manner.

She also stated that the children's father would not be facing any charges in relation to the "murder-suicide plot" based on the information that has been uncovered in the investigation.