Children weren’t sedated when mother shot them

She placed an ‘X’ on their chests to mark their hearts, police said.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Preliminary toxicology results found that a mother who shot two of her four children through the heart and then killed herself did not sedate the children first, contrary to what authorities initially thought, the Hamilton County Coroner’s office said.

Jacob Wittich, 10, and Sydney Wittich, 7, were not given the over-the-counter drug Benadryl before Mary Ann Wittich killed them July 31, according to the results released Friday. The children tested negative for all cough medicines found in the home, Coroner O’dell Owens said.

The day after the shootings, Owens suggested it was likely the children had been sedated with allergy medicine then shot while they slept.

Owens said he is horrified that the children might have been conscious during the shootings.

“I’d like to say the kids were drugged and it was easy for her to shoot them rather than think they were alive and active,” Owens said.

A water bottle found at Wittich’s home in suburban Delhi Township has been sent away for additional testing to see if it contained any medications, Owens said.

According to police reports, Wittich had placed an “X” on the children’s chests with a marker to make sure she hit the heart. There was no sign that the children struggled with their mother, authorities said.

Wittich had been going through a divorce earlier in the summer and was depressed, Owens’ office had said after the shooting. Wittich also left a suicide note addressed to her two adult daughters.