LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – The Liberty County mother who was accused of attempting to drown her three children after giving them NyQuil and alcohol has been handed a bond of $3 million.
Jessica Quintana, 39, was formally charged with two counts of injury to a child causing bodily injury and one charge of assault causing bodily injury after her hospital release last Friday. All three charges are felonies in the first degree.
She was given a $1 million bond for each of the three charges, which investigators are now referring to as “an attempted murder-suicide.”
MORE INFO: What we know about the near-drownings reported in Liberty County
The situation stems from an incident that happened on Sept. 29, when deputies with LCSO found Quintana and the three children— two girls, ages 15 and 11, and a boy, age 6 — in or near the pond, located in the 9100 block of FM 1008 in Dayton at 6:13 a.m.
One of the children was unresponsive, so lifesaving measures were taken before they were rushed to hospitals.
In a press conference Monday Liberty County District Attorney Jennifer Bergman announced that toxicology reports and witness testimonies had confirmed earlier reports that the children were given both alcohol and NyQuil, calling the situation an “attempted murder-suicide.”
OUR FIRST REPORT: Mother, three children pulled from pond in Liberty County
Deputies also recovered numerous empty Nyquil bottles and an empty tequila bottle.
Court records revealed that Quintana allegedly had two plans called Plan A and Plan B, which were made in an attempt to get them away from the residence.
Plan A involved she and the children packing their bags and leaving the home. They reportedly attempted to do this on the previous day, Sept. 28. It’s unclear why they were unable to leave.
Plan B was allegedly carried out the following day. Quintana is accused of giving her children the NyQuil and alcohol until they felt “fuzzy,” and leading them into the water.
“Thankfully, things did not go as planned and Plan B was not able to be carried out,” Bergman said. “As a result of Plan B, all three children were transported to memorial hospital.”
Domingo Quintana, Jessica’s husband, will reportedly not be charged in the incident. Domingo called authorities on the morning of the incident to alert them to the situation.
Domingo was arrested on an unrelated animal cruelty charge after the incident involving his family led investigators to discover a “cat being kept in unsanitary and unsafe conditions inside the home.”
A warrant reveals Jessica told detectives she and Domingo were having problems and that he had taken her phone away. She said she couldn’t live with him anymore and feared she couldn’t protect her children if she died.
“The duty of a mother is to protect her children,” Bergman said. “To love them and to keep them safe. To keep them safe from harm and that’s the duty of every parent. When this sacred type of duty is violated, it strikes the heart of a community and demands accountability under the law and it often times leaves us asking why.”
Recently, a Liberty Police lieutenant was seen at the jail when Domingo bonded out and has since been placed on administrative leave. Authorities say he is not involved in the investigation.