Woman kills five children before setting house on fire and turning gun on herself

GREENBRIER COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department released new information Thursday morning regarding a horrific incident that resulted in the death of five children under the age of seven and one woman.

The sheriff says Oreanna Myers, 25, of Williamsburg shot all five children before setting the house on fire and turning the gun on herself.

Crews responded to the fire on December 8, 2020 just before 4 p.m.

According to the sheriff department, Myers texted the father of the children hours before telling him she left something in their vehicle and that she was sorry she wasn’t ‘strong enough.’

911 was alerted that the house along Flynns Creek Road was on fire around 330 p.m., just an hour after Myers was seen at the bus stop picking up two of the children.

When fire crews arrived at the home just before 3:50 p.m., flames were fierce, and the home was badly damaged.

Myers body was found just before 4:30 p.m. at a picnic table along the south side of the home, the sheriff says. A shot gun was located beside her body.

Officials say Myers was the biological mother of three of the children and the stepmother of two.

The children’s ages were one, three, four, six and seven.

When first responders searched the couple’s broken-down vehicle in the driveway, they found three handwritten letters.

One of the letters was titled confession.

The note read, “I had shot all boys in the head. I had set house on fire. I had shot myself in the head. I’m sorry mental health is serious. I hope one day someone will help others like me. Mental health is not to joke about or to take lightly. When someone begs, pleads, cries out for help, please help them. You just might save a life or more lives. Thank you, O.A.M.”

In one of the other letters, Myers wrote to her mother, “I’m sorry. This is no one’s fault buy my own. My demons won over me and there’s no going back. So sorry I wasn’t strong enough.”

Myers diary, cell phone and a glass jar containing a crystal and a cloth with a spiral symbol on it were also located inside of the vehicle.

According to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, shot gun pellets consistent with those removed from Myers’ body were removed from the remains of four of the five children. The sheriff says X-ray examination revealed pellets in the fifth child.

The medical examiner ruled the manner of death homicide, according to the Greenbrier Sheriff.

Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest information.

Warning signs of suicide include:

• Talking about wanting to die

• Looking for a way to kill oneself

• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose

• Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain

• Talking about being a burden to others

• Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs

• Acting anxious, agitated or recklessly

• Sleeping too little or too much

• Withdrawing or feeling isolated

• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge

• Displaying extreme mood swings The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. Warning signs are associated with suicide but may not be what causes a suicide

If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide:

• Do not leave the person alone

• Remove any fi rearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt

• Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)

• Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional

THE NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE 800-273-TALK (8255)

-A free, 24/7 service that can provide suicidal persons or those around them with support, information and local resources.