FERGUSON, Mo. — It’s been two weeks since a devastating fire claimed the lives of a mother and her four children. Investigators have now labeled it a quadruple murder-suicide.
Cordell Beache recalls the last moments spent with his beloved grandchildren and daughter. Little did he know it would be their final moments together. The morning of February 19th shattered his family’s world when first responders discovered the bodies of nine-year-old twins Ellie and Ivy Pruessner, six-year-old Jackson Spader, and two-year-old Millie Spader.
“We wake up every day going through the same emotions. I don’t know if we’ll ever get over this. It’s very difficult,” Beache expressed, struggling to come to terms with the tragic loss. “I could not have ever imagined this happening. Not in my wildest imagination. This is so far from what Birdie is, what she is as a person.”
St. Louis County Police revealed that Beache’s daughter, Ashley Bernadine Preussner, was responsible for the heinous act, taking the lives of her four children before ending her own. Authorities said she intentionally set her home on fire on Clay Avenue in Ferguson, leaving a note in her minivan detailing her intentions.
Pruessner was embroiled in a bitter custody battle with an ex-husband and faced another legal dispute with a former boyfriend and co-parent.
“She was up against just not one, but two attempts to try and take her children away,” Beache said.
Despite her struggles, Beache wants Birdie, as she was affectionately known, to be remembered for the life she lived. “
I want people to know Birdie was a loving mother,” he said.
She was an educator, recognized with the Missouri Teacher of the Year Award in 2013, described by her father as brilliant and dedicated.
Despite her achievements, Birdie struggled in silence.
“I hope nobody goes through what my daughter went through,” Beache said. “I just hope they reach out to family. There has to be some sort of service available to support women going through this crisis.”
A public celebration of life is scheduled for March 9th in Lake St. Louis. A GoFundMe campaign has been established to cover the costs of the service and to create a memorial site or park in their honor.
“If anybody knows Birdie or shared a brief moment in Birdie’s life. They’re more than welcome,” Beache said.
Comments are closed.