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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — A township woman will face attempted homicide charges after attempting to kill herself and her two children Wednesday evening, according to law enforcement sources.
Melissa Ann Scholl, 32, of 547 Blackman St., was charged with two counts of attempted homicide after investigators say they found her in her car in the Williams Bus Line parking lot at 532 Blackman Street around 5:30 p.m.
A hose was strung between the car’s exhaust pipe and the passenger area, Wilkes-Barre Township police Sgt. Mark Hampton said. The hose was visible on the ground next to the vehicle. The two children were in the car, a 2001 blue Saturn sedan.
Scholl was arraigned Wednesday at 9:20 p.m. before District Judge David Barilla at his office in the Swoyersville Borough Building.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Hampton and Detective Michael Amditis, police were dispatched to the Williams Bus Line parking lot in response to a report of a woman running a green garden hose from her car’s tail pipe into the passenger compartment of the vehicle with Scholl and her two children inside.
Hampton and Wilkes-Barre Township Patrolman Joseph Wozniak arrived on the scene and made contact with Scholl, who was seated in the driver’s seat of the car. Police said Scholl’s two children, a male age 7, and a female age 5, were secured in the rear seat of the vehicle. The officers removed the children from the vehicle and placed them in an ambulance for treatment and Scholl was taken into custody.
Police identified the person who reported the incident to police as Robert Shinal, a driver for the Williams Bus Line. Shinal told police he observed the vehicle with the engine running and a hose extending from the exhaust pipe into the car through the driver’s side window.
Shinal told police he pulled his vehicle behind Scholl’s car and approached, observing the two young children seated in the back seat and wearing seat belts. He also observed Scholl in the driver’s seat.
Shinal said he knocked on the window and told Scholl to roll the window down and when she did, Shinal said he grabbed the hose and pulled it out of the car. Shinal said he then told Scholl to turn the car off and to hand him the keys and she complied.
Shinal said he then called 911 to report the incident. Shinal also told police that he observed what appeared to be a wine bottle next to Scholl on the front passenger side seat.
Barilla asked Scholl if she understood the charges against her and she nodded in the affirmative. Barilla set bail at $500,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 1 p.m. before District Judge Michael Dotzel, 240 Johnson St., Wilkes-Barre Township.
Scholl is being held at Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
Scholl told Barilla she has never been arrested before and that she worked at Maxim Healthcare Services. She said she has lived at her current address for three years and her parents reside in the area. She said her husband is in jail.
Scholl did not offer comment when asked about the incident. She tried to conceal her face from cameras as she was led into and out of Barilla’s office. Scholl was wearing a long black and white coat, black stretch pants and running shoes. Her height was listed as 5-foot-7 and her weight at 110 pounds. The criminal complaints listed Scholl’s place of birth as Wiesbaden, Germany.
Barilla issued a search warrant for Scholl’s vehicle.
Earlier in the evening, Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said an assistant district attorney and a county detective were at the scene.
The children were taken to an area hospital to be checked out, but their condition was not released.
