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Authorities say a 35-year-old mother who attempted to kill her daughters last year by putting prescription drugs in their bottles has tried again, this time cutting one of the girls' wrists.
Reggie Ann Peck, faces two second-degree felony child abuse charges and two second-degree felony charges for the surreptitious administration of a substance. She appeared in court Wednesday and waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
According to divorce court records from 1st District Court in Logan, Peck suffers from Bipolar Disorder, but, since October of last year, has received medication, counseling and extensive treatment at Bear River Mental Health.
On Aug. 28, Peck parked her car off the side of the road in South Weber and gave her daughters prescription drugs that knocked them out, according to charging documents filed in 2nd District Court Tuesday. She then allegedly cut one of their wrists.
The car wasn't found until early morning Aug. 30, when someone called police to report seeing a strange car. Davis County Sheriff's Deputies ran the plates and found the car belonged to Peck, who had been reported missing along with her two children.
When they couldn't make contact with Peck, the deputies approached the car and found the doors were locked. They broke the back windows and found Peck, holding one of her children in one hand and a box cutter to her throat with the other. She begged deputies to shoot her, according to the documents.
As the officers tried to take the box cutter from her, they say she began to slice her throat. Her two children witnessed the suicide attempt.
Kevin Peck, the girls father, said Wednesday that both his daughters spent about six hours in the emergency room at McKay-Dee Hospital Center after it was discovered they were given prescription drugs. Both are now fine and living in Bountiful with Kevin Peck and his parents.
He said details were sketchy about what happened those two days, but it appears Reggie Peck took her daughters to Park City for a show and to see family, he said. Those family members didn't call the police because, "there didn't appear to be anything wrong" he said.
The mother and two girls then apparently got their car stuck on Sunday where police eventually found them. It appears other motorist may have stopped to see if they needed help, but Reggie Peck declined assistance. The girl apparently picked some flowers, "almost making a picnic out of it," before police found them, Kevin Peck said.
During the weekend, he and other family members had been looking for them. Police called Peck about 9 a.m. Aug. 30.
"The first thing they wanted me to know was the kids were OK," he said. "That was a relief."
He said his wife's family has been great and are just glad the kids are fine. Kevin Peck said he tells his daughters their mother is sick, but she loves them. "I don't want them to have a bad image of her," he said.
Reggie Peck had previously put prescription medication into her children's bottles while living in Cache County in October 2009, said North Park Police Chief Kim Hawkes.
"The conclusion we drew was it was indeed her intention to do something like [kill the children]," Hawkes said. "We felt like she had ... second thoughts." Police found a powder later identified as the antidepressant drug Trazadone in the bottom of the children's bottles. The children did not ingest enough of the drug to cause any visible effects, Hawkes said.
She had previously attempted to kill herself, the attempt to kill her children came after a fight with her husband, according to a North Park police report.
In January, Reggie Peck entered a plea in abeyance through a 1st District mental health court to charges of surreptitious administering of certain substance, assault, and domestic violence in the presence of a child. The second two charges stem from the fight with her husband, Hawkes said.
The plea meant the charge would be wiped from her record if she complied with the terms of the plea.
Police in North Park informed the Division of Child and Family Services following the October arrest, Hawkes said, and a court-appointed guardian supervised her visits with her children after her arrest. Reggie Peck had "co-parenting time" with her children, which means the guardian, who is trained in symptoms of Bipolar Disorder, stayed with Reggie Peck at her home every night she had the children, divorce documents state. The guardian was at the Peck home during some days but Reggie Peck was not subject to "daytime supervision at all times," divorce documents state.
Kevin Peck, who is still going through divorce proceedings, said he wants his wife to get better but plans to fight to keep his kids safe from her.
"This is twice now," he said. "There's no way I could take the chance with allowing her to have another (custodial) right with my kids."
What's next? Peck to be arraigned
P Reggie Ann Peck is being held without bail in the Davis County jail and will be arraigned Oct. 6 in Farmington's 2nd District Court.