PICKENS Co., SC (WSPA) – A murder/suicide case involving a woman killed in a car at a Greenville parking garage, a mother and her two children, has been closed by investigators.
The investigation began on July 13th with the death of Meredith Rahme, 28. She was found in a downtown Greenville parking garage with a gunshot wound.
It was later determined that Jessica Edens, 36 used a .40 caliber handgun that she took from her parents’ home, while they were out of town, to shoot Rahme. The gun was legally owned and purchased by the parents, according to law enforcement officials working the case.
The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office reviewed telephone records after a warrant was granted, which confirmed to investigators that Edens had become upset after a Family Court meeting held earlier in the week before the Thursday shootings.
Deputies said that text and written messages indicated Edens made a plan over a couple of days after the Family Court meeting that she “felt would cause everlasting consequences for her husband, Benjamin Edens.”
Through the investigation, it was determined that Edens left the parking garage in the same car that she was found in with her children at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway later that day. She reportedly went directly to the track after leaving the parking garage.
A phone call that was made by Edens to her husband while he was with Greenville authorities, along with additional evidence, determined that the children were shot while seated in the cargo area of their SUV, according to the report.
The report also states that there was no sign of a struggle.
Investigators believe that the children were shot before Edens placed one more call to her husband. Then, the report states, she shot herself in the back seat of the vehicle.
Edens and her two children were found in the backseat dead when deputies arrived.
Sheriff Rick Clark gave a statement on the deaths included with the report:
“As we struggle to understand how a parent could possibly come to a decision such as this, we have to focus on tomorrow and the opportunity to provide services and solutions to those that feel that their life and the lives of their loved ones must end in order to find peace.
We live in a stressful world during difficult times but there are resources that stand ready to offer help and assist you if you feel that you have no other options left in life.
Please reach out to law enforcement so that we can be the bridge to lead you to a road of recovery. In time, you will see that all things come to pass and you too can become a stronger person with hope and faith in a brighter future.
All of us need a helping hand from time to time as we walk through life and asking for help is not a sign of weakness that any of us should be ashamed of”.
