The Pevely mother accused of killing her two children will undergo a mental health examination. The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a motion with the court on Monday, Feb. 10, for Ashley Parmeley to undergo a mandated exam, court documents show.
On Feb. 4, Parmeley’s attorney, Patrick Austermann, declared Parmeley’s intent to plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, according to court records.
State law requires a person pleading not guilty due to mental disease or defect to be examined by private psychiatrists or psychologists who are neither employees nor contractors of the Department of Mental Health.
Parmeley has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, each one a class A felony punishable by either death or life imprisonment without eligibility for probation, parole or release except by act of the governor, and one count of armed criminal action, an unclassified felony that carries a penalty of three to 15 years in prison, court records said.
On May 28, Parmeley, who also has lived in Festus, drove to the Festus Police Station, 100 Park Ave., and told officers she killed her children, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Officers found Scarlet Parmeley-Daugherty in the trunk of the Mazda SUV that Parmeley drove to the Police Station. Scarlet, 9, had a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, the report said.
Sheriff’s Office deputies found her son, Isaac Baum 2, in a fountain near the entrance of the Timber Creek Resort, 4800 Hwy. 67, south of Olympian Village. A deputy dove into the water to retrieve the boy. Isaac was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.
Parmeley allegedly told investigators she shot Scarlet in the 9000 block of Hwy. E near Bonne Terre, which is in St. Francois County. She also said before shooting Scarlet she tried to “sacrifice” Isaac in St. Francois County, but he was alive when she drove into Jefferson County, where she drowned him at the resort, police reported.
Parmeley had been charged for Scarlet’s death in St. Francois County, but prosecutors consolidated the case in Jefferson County.
Scarlet’s father, Jason Daugherty of De Soto, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in November against Parmeley. On Dec. 30, Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit Judge Travis Partney awarded Daugherty $3 million in a default judgment after Parmeley failed to appear at a Dec. 19 hearing or file a responsive pleading, court records show.
Daugherty is not Baum’s father.
Parmeley remains in custody but has been absent from several court proceedings in the murder case. A criminal setting hearing in her case is scheduled for Feb. 24, according to court documents.