New details emerged Monday, Oct. 27, in the case of Jessica Carolina Quintana, the 39-year-old Kenefick woman accused of trying to drown her three children in a pond near their home on FM 1008 in Dayton.
During a press conference outside the Liberty County Courthouse, Liberty County District Attorney Jennifer Bergman confirmed that Quintana has been formally charged with one count of attempted aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to a family member with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and two counts of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, both first-degree felonies.
Bergman said the charges stem from events that occurred on Sept. 29, 2025, when Liberty County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to a reported attempted murder-suicide. Deputies found Quintana unresponsive in a pond along with her three children — ages 15, 11 and 6. The 11-year-old was unresponsive, while the other two children were conscious but in distress.
According to Bergman, an arrest affidavit revealed that Quintana’s teenage daughter told investigators her mother had devised two plans. Plan A was to pack their belongings and leave the home, but when that failed the day earlier, Plan B was to end their lives together. On the morning of Sept. 29, Quintana allegedly instructed her children to drink a mixture of alcohol and NyQuil until they “felt fuzzy,” telling them they would roll into the water themselves or she would roll them in once they were “knocked out.”
Toxicology testing confirmed elevated levels of alcohol and/or acetaminophen in the children’s systems, Bergman said. All three were transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston — one by Life Flight in critical condition, the others by ground ambulance.
New information shared Monday indicated that the children had been complicit in their mother’s plan and that NyQuil had been administered prior to the attempted drowning.
Bergman said the case was thoroughly investigated by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Texas Rangers and that her office has been involved since the beginning.
She also addressed circulating misinformation, clarifying that Lt. Ramiro Lozano, who was recently suspended from the Liberty Police Department, is not employed by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and has no connection to the Quintana investigation.
Additionally, Bergman said the children’s father, Domingo Quintana, will not face charges in connection with the attempted murder-suicide plot.
“The duty of a mother is to protect her children, to love them and to keep them safe from harm,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “When this sacred duty is violated, it strikes at the heart of our community and demands accountability under the law.”
During questioning after the press conference, Bergman was asked if the children would be returned to their father. While the children reportedly remain in the custody of Child Protective Services, Bergman declined to comment further.
Bergman also addressed widespread social media speculation regarding alleged cartel connections. When asked by Bluebonnet News if the father was linked to the Mexican drug cartel, Bergman said there is no proof of any such ties.
Property records show the family’s home, valued at an estimated $4.5 million, has more than $132,000 in unpaid back taxes for the last four years.
Because the case involves minor children and remains an active prosecution, no further details will be released at this time. Jessica Quintana is being held in the Liberty County Jail on bonds totaling $3,000,000 set by Pct. 5 Justice of the Peace Wade Brown.
Bergman thanked the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Rangers and the medical professionals at Memorial Hermann Hospital, as well as Children’s Protective Services, for their tireless and compassionate work in this case.
“Our office remains steadfast in our commitment to seek justice for these children and to ensure the truth is fully and accurately presented in court,” Bergman said.
Something definitely wrong with this you can afford a multi million dollar home but you can’t pay taxes. Probably another Liberty County cover up
I totally agree, I’m trying to get justice for my son, who was murdered. Just to find out the accomplice was just dismissed. Thank you liberty County for b another blow to my heart. No news in this case!!!
For someone to be so distraught and discouraged, to feel so very helpless and hopeless, and to contemplate the sad and wrong choice of something as awful as attempting murder-suicide of oneself and children, has to be the lowest most unbearable feeling and thinking for a parent.
Where can one who feels and thinks this way turn for help? Who can one turn to for help? How can one even admit to another person such awful thoughts and feelings?
I do believe we should seek God when stressed, and ask for His help first and foremost. But…what to do after that? Should a person ever call CPS on their own self? What other options are available for a parent this emotionally and spiritually disturbed?
The conditions in that home reached a point we may never know or understand.
Please do a recession of her bond. A mother’s act to hurt her children or to kill her children should not be allowed to be bought with money or anything else!
I pray for this family as something has went into a dark world for this family. The father was there; why was he not involved; this did not happen spontaneously nor without strange acts leading to the water. This bond needs ro be withdrawn. No criminal act against a child should have a price on it even though everyone loves $$$$$$$$$$$. Are we dealing with American citizens?