A suicidal Marine veteran killed her three children in January by suffocating them with masks made of plastic bags and masking tape, according to autopsy results released Thursday.
The autopsy findings of Justin Medina, 10, Kai Holmes, 4, and Faith Holmes, 10 months, essentially brings to a close the case of Kisha Holmes, who killed her children before killing herself inside the family's Cobb County apartment. She was pregnant with her fourth child at the time of the murder-suicide.
The reports by the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s office said Faith’s body was found in her crib on Jan. 27. The bodies of her two brothers were found in bed together, facing each other. After killing her children, Holmes hanged herself with a belt in the apartment.
The medical examiner report said the investigation found no signs of outward trauma to the children, but there was evidence to suggest that Justin, the oldest, may have resisted attempts at being suffocated. His mother may have turned to strangling him, the report said.
His cause of death is listed as asphyxia “due to suffocation/strangulation.” Cause of death for the younger children is asphyxia by suffocation. Investigators found two masks made of plastic bags and duct tape hidden in a closet. At least one of the masks had what appeared to be the outline of a face.
Kisha Holmes, 35, had gone through a veterans homeless program in late 2013 and had moved to the Austell apartment on a veterans voucher program. Friends, family and others who knew her considered her a loving mother and they expressed shock by her final act.
The case reignited questions about the Atlanta Va Medical Center and its treatment of veterans with mental health problems. The VA has refused to answer questions about the case or about whether it failed Holmes or her family.
In the months before her death, veterans officials had identified Holmes as a “high risk” for suicide. She missed two mental health appointments at the VA in December and had another missed appointment scheduled Jan. 27, the day a maintenance worker discovered the bodies inside the family’s apartment and called police.
Holmes had experienced mounting stress in the final months of her life. A single mother, she confided to a friend last summer that she had recently been diagnosed HIV-positive. At one point last fall, she contacted Kai's father about taking custody of the boy, but then didn't follow through with the planned exchange.
She lived a life of isolation and in the last couple months of her life had gone into one of her phases of extreme social withdrawal.
She kept a journal and investigators found an entry outlining her plans for her final act, according to the autopsy.
