According to news reports, Melissa Partee, 38, may have abused her 5-year-old daughter in the past; the two were found dead in a Brighton residence on Monday from what police believe is a murder-suicide.
You can read the reporting by Detroit’s Channel 7 WXYZ by clicking here. According to WXYZ’s reporting, sources at the Shelby Township Police Department responded to a call for help in 2017 about Partee abusing her daughter. There were also numerous reports made by the child’s father about Partee abusing their daughter.
Police say Partee was suffering from depression and anxiety, and was in fear of losing custody of her 5-year-old daughter when she killed the child and then herself.
According to police and news reports, evidence suggests Partee sedated her daughter with pills mixed into a drink before strangling her. Then, Partee shot herself in the head with a revolver.
Police are waiting on toxicology reports on both, who may have been dead inside their North Second Street residence in Brighton for five days.
On Monday, June 4, 2019, Brighton police received a call from a man requesting a welfare check of Partee and their 5-year-old daughter after she did not show up for a custody exchange. Officers arrived at the woman’s residence in the 700 block of North Second Street at about noon that day, according to WHMI.com, but were unable to make contact with Partee despite her car being in the driveway. After making entry with the assistance of the landlord, police found Partee and her daughter deceased.
A source told WDIV Click on Detroit that police believe they may have been dead for a few days.
