Deaths of mom, kids found dead in Mississippi River ruled murder-suicide

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Crittenden County Medical Examiner in Arkansas has ruled the death of Memphis, Tennessee, mother Aisha Fair and her two sons a murder-suicide.

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The news comes several weeks after deputies found Fair and her young boys dead inside a car in the Mississippi River.

The Crittenden County Sheriff's Office said Fair was in an accident on I-40 moments before going into the river in late July.

Investigators said she fled the scene of that accident, drove through a nearby field and into the river, where the bodies were recovered.

Fair, 26; Charvon Lofton, 7; and Jattir Ragland Jr., 2, died in the crash.

>> On Fox13Memphis.com: Family identifies Memphis mother and 2 children after drowning in lake

Days before driving into the river, Fair posted on GoFundMe and Facebook about her battle with "schizoaffective disorder," a mental health condition, WHBQ reported.

Moments after getting the medical examiner's results, WHBQ's Tony Atkins sat with Dr. John McCoy, a clinical psychologist of 45 years, to discuss the incident.

“Nobody did anything wrong. It’s a genetic medical disorder just like two or three other medically inherited disorders,” said Dr. John McCoy.

He said it's not common for people dealing with mental health issues to become violent.

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“Most people who have a severe mental illness are not dangerous, but sometimes they are,” McCoy said.

McCoy said best practices for loved ones are to keep constant communication with those affected by the disorder.

“It helps to know what they’re thinking. It’s a lot better if you know what a person is thinking and the conclusions they’ve come to,” McCoy said. “These are largely inherited and they affect normal, ordinary people that had no idea they had the particular genetic makeup.”

WHBQ reached out to Fair's loved ones about the report but are still working to make contact.

Cox Media Group