Police in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania are investigating after they say a 40-year-old mother intentionally suffocated her 12-month-old son before taking her own life in an apparent murder-suicide.
The bodies were found by officers who were dispatched to Sheri Shermeyer's Shrewsbury Township home for a welfare check on Monday afternoon.
Shermeyer was found lying in her bed, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Police say the woman intentionally suffocated her son, John, who most likely died of asphyxiation.
A seven paragraph note was posted to the woman's Facebook page two hours before police found the bodies, according to the York Dispatch. It appears to be directed at the boy's father.
“I have been slowly dying inside. I'm confused, just torn down, hardly ever go out in public anymore, don't socialize with people, I've become a hermit,” the post read. “I feel that the ONLY thing I have to live for is this little guy asleep in my arms right now, John. He is the only reason why I haven't blown my head off right now."
"You will never see your son again," the note went on to say.
A coroner was sent to the home just before 2 p.m. Autopsies are scheduled for Wednesday.
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SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
