Mother kills self and her 3 children after father commits suicide

LEE FAMILY

Molly Cheng, Lee Yee and their children.

Minnesota authorities are calling the deaths of a Hmong American family a triple homicide and a double suicide.

Molly Cheng, 23, drowned her three young children and herself July 1 after she called police earlier that day to report that her husband, Yee Lee, 27, had shot himself, authorities said.

After Molly Cheng's call Maplewood police, a relative called 911 to report that Molly Cheng intended to kill herself and her three children. Authoritieis, who were sending a social worker to the Cheng family after Yee Lee's suicide, put out a statewide alert and began a frantic search for the family. It wasn't until Tuesday, July 5, that the bodies of the mother and her children were pulled from Vadnais Lake.

The Ramsey County medical examiner reported that Quadrillion T. Lee, 4; Phoenix Lee, 5; and Estella Zoo Siab Lee, 3, all drowned. The youngest two had also been smothered, the medical examiner ruled.

Their mother, Molly Cheng, 23, drowned, and Yee Lee, believed to be the children's father, died of a gunshot wound.

Family spokesman Chong Lue Lee, father of Yee Lee, said he wasn’t aware whether either his son or Cheng struggled with mental health issues. He described his son and Cheng as nice, kind people. the couple were both born in Thailand and grew up in the Thai refugee camp, Wat Tham Krabok.

“They are the last wave of Hmong refugees from Wat Tham Krabok,” Lee said of a group of Hmong refugees who left the camp in the early 2000s.

Both met in the Twin Cities and had been together for seven years. The couple operated a nail and hair salon in Brooklyn Park, Lee said. 

When police arrived after Molly Cheng called about Yee Lee's suicide, family members began gathering. Police tape prevented them from entering the house but they began making plans for the children. Molly Cheng rejected the offer to have the children spend the night at Chong Lue Lee's home. She did not want to be separated from her children.

The extended family left Molly Cheng and her children at the house believing the police would remain but the police soon left leaving the family alone.

At that point, Molly Chen left with her children. She called a friend to say what her intentions were. The friend called family and the relatives alerted police.

Authorities found the children's shoes near the lake and began dragging the lake. The first body was found Sunday, JJuly 5. By Monday, all the bodies had been recovered.

“We greatly appreciate that the police were present at the scene when my son passed away,” Chong Lue Lee said. “But we wished they could do more to prevent the loss of the other four lives.”

“We wish there would be 24-hour supervision for the mother and the children because of the father, because of what happened to him,” the elder Lee told a local TV station. “In a short time, less than three hours, the police release the mother and kids, and then in that three hours, a thing happened to those children. So wouldn’t it be better for there to be 24-hour supervision after such [a] tragedy happened to their loved one?”

Leaders in the close-knit Hmong community spoke with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Monday, explaining they are counseling not only the victims’ families but also Hmong families throughout the Twin Cities.

“Right now, the community is still in shock mode,” said Paul Xiong with the Hmong 18 Council of Minnesota. “This would be the second time this happened in the community.”

The Hmong 18 Council was formed more than 20 years ago when a Hmong mother killed her children.

The Hmong 18 Council of Minnesota along with family and community members will hold a candlelight vigil at Vadnais Lake Saturday, July 9 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Family members of Lee and Cheng have set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help defray funeral expenses.

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