Police: Brighton mom drugged, strangled her daughter in murder-suicide

Image 1 of 3

Brighton police have released new details in the murder-suicide of a mother and her 5-year-old daughter. 

Investigators say Melissa Partee is believed to have sedated her daughter with pills mixed into a drink before strangling her. Partee, 38, then fatally shot herself in the head with a revolver. 

Police said Partee was suffering from depression and anxiety due to being in fear of losing her child. She and her daughter were both found dead Monday inside her apartment in the 700 block of Second Avenue.

Investigators speculated that Partee and her daughter may have been dead for about five days at the time they were discovered Monday.

Police made the discovery after a welfare check was asked for by the girl's father, who is the ex-boyfriend of Partee. She had missed a custody exchange over the weekend, causing him to call police.