ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. — The Jefferson County community continues to come together for the grieving families of two children killed by their mother.
On Tuesday morning, 36-year-old Ashley Parmeley walked into the Festus Police Department and told an officer she killed her children, 9-year-old Scarlet and 2-year-old Isaac.
The families want these kids to be remembered as the shining lights they were.
Family friends described Isaac and Scarlet as happy and loving kids taken too soon.
“Love describes both of them deeply,” the Rev. Chad Smith said.
The community held a vigil for both families just a day after they were killed.
“I mean, the entire community, Jefferson County and beyond. I mean, they have so much support,” Flipside Program Director Allison Andeline said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office shared a beautiful moment from the vigil where balloons were released at the Twin City Little League Softball Field, a place where Scarlet put in the hours to be a pitcher.
“That was one of the last places she practiced pitching,” Smith said.
She was also in gymnastics and cheer. Her coaches at Flipside in Festus said she had so much energy and a big heart.
“She had beautiful tumbling and flying. She was beautiful. And then she smiled. And she drew your attention there,” Flipside Cheer Coach Jen Wright said.
These kids have inspired people even miles away in Park Hills to do good.
“I was laying in bed scrolling through and just seeing how hard it has hit everybody,” Four Towns Brewing Company bartender Bobbie Collier said.
Collier said as a mom, she's heartbroken.
“I'm a mom of two little boys, and it just hit my heart a little bit. And I was like, you know, we're a small town, we can do great things for this family,” Collier said.
Collier said Four Towns is selling $25 tickets to two different raffles. One is for its mug club which has special perks at the bar for one year, and the other is a chance to win a free night in its speakeasy event space.
“We're also going to host a cornhole tournament, and part of those funds also will go towards the family. For the raffle, 100% of the profit is gonna go to the family,” Collier said.
Collier said you can watch for the cornhole event on the Four Towns Facebook page. More details to come.
She said she wished she could wrap her arms around these families.
“I would hug them. I would. I mean, I would just tell them that it's hard. And I couldn't, I cannot even imagine what everyone's going through,” Collier said.
To help the families you can donate to Isaac’s GoFundMe page and Scarlet’s GoFundMe page.
You can buy raffle tickets from Four Towns Brewing Company by visiting the bar or by purchasing them from businesses in Festus. You can also purchase them through Venmo at @FourTownsBrewCo and write whether you want the mug club or speakeasy in the note.
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