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‘She Adored Her Son’: Missing California Mom and Son Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
Friends of Shana Pringle said the young mother may have spiraled into depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A missing Northern California mother and her young son were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds in a suspected murder-suicide last weekend, which a friend says she believes may have been brought on by her circumstances amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Shana Renee Pringle, 34, and her 2-year-old son Noah Vice were reported missing from Sacramento County on Nov. 23.
Their bodies were later recovered from a vehicle parked near a movie theatre on Eureka Road in Roseville, California, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. They had both been shot, and one of them had what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, KOVR reported.
An officer made the gruesome discovery around 3 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Sacramento Bee.
"The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest sympathy to the family of Shana and Noah for the tragic ending discovered in Placer County early this morning," a sheriff's office spokesperson told KXTV in a statement.
The father of Noah Vice reported the mother and son missing roughly a week earlier, Sgt. Rodney Grassmann with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office confirmed.
One of Pringle’s friends said that she is convinced that the isolation brought on by the coronavirus pandemic drove the mother into depression.
“This just simply is the worst year that ever was, ever, it’s the worst,” Sarah Beilgard told KOVR, adding that Pringle and her boyfriend had broken up during the lockdowns in California.
“So I think she did suffer from depression, especially with COVID and not having her own place, boyfriend breaking up with her,” she added. I think any normal person would have difficulty with that."
Beilgard, who said she was shocked to learn of the possible murder-suicide, said Pringle had appeared to be a loving and devoted mother.
“She adored her son, I can’t reconcile in my mind her harming him at all,” Beilgard said. “It’s the worst, and I really blame COVID for what happened to Shana. Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you call me, why didn’t you call me? She normally would’ve called me.”
Police have declined to release any additional information and the investigation remains ongoing. Roseville Police Department spokesperson Rob Baquera didn’t immediately reply when Oxygen.com reached out for comment on Friday.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
