Pontiac, Michigan – A mother who froze to death with her two sons in Pontiac on Sunday was reportedly suffering from a mental health crisis that may be linked to her husband’s 2021 murder.
Monica Canady, 35, and her two sons Malik, 3, and Kyle, 9, died of hypothermia on Sunday in a vacant lot near 200 blocks of Branch Street in Pontiac, police said. was discovered.
Police found the body after Cannady’s 10-year-old daughter approached the house and called for help.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard determined that people, including a sheriff’s deputy, were trying to kill a 35-year-old woman when she fled her apartment on foot with her three children for safety. Is called.
Bouchard says Cannady’s family tried to get her help, but she refused.
Bouchard said from Friday to Sunday, Oakland County lawmakers received multiple calls of women and children loitering in the streets without clothing suitable for the cold.
“From our side, we were not called on people at risk or children,” Bouchard said. “Sometimes I get calls saying, ‘Hey, there are people in this area who don’t seem to be properly dressed.’ ”
Authorities later learned from a 10-year-old girl that Canady had told the children to run away if anyone approached them.
read: Police explain how a mother and her two young sons froze to death in Pontiac Woods.
They headed for the Pontiac neighborhood off Branch Street. Neighbor Charles Witherspoon saw police activity on Sunday and spoke with another neighbor who spoke with his family on Saturday.
“They were hungry. I asked, ‘What did you do?’ I said I didn’t receive it,” Witherspoon explained.
The family ended up in a field at the edge of Crystal Lake. “They were in a field and she told her children to lie down and sleep. Unfortunately, they died there,” Bouchard explained.
Pontiac’s murder is believed to have caused this incident. In November 2021, Kyle Milton was shot dead at a party.
Kyle is said to have been Monica’s husband.
A 10-year-old girl was hospitalized with “symptoms of hypothermia,” officials said.
“This tragedy was fundamental evidence of the breakdown of the mental health system in America,” Bouchard said. “We are not providing enough support to our mental health providers and systems, and we do not have enough resources readily available.”
Below you can find information about community resources for non-emergency access to public mental health services.
Related reading: Mother and two boys frozen to death in Pontiac Woods, police say
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