SAN DIEGO – A 55-year-old county employee killed her teen granddaughter with a fatal overdose of prescription medication before taking her own life, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reported Friday.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Marshelle Marie Newby killed 16-year-old Emily Jean Kaminski by intentionally giving her too many pills. Newby then committed suicide by also overdosing on medication.
On Oct. 14, the two were found deceased in their home at 4108 Avoyer Pl. in the the neighborhood of Grand Helix in rural La Mesa.
Newby was a San Diego County District Attorney’s Office criminal-division legal secretary who had been employed by the agency for 23 years. Newby also raised her special-needs granddaughter, Kaminksi, as her own.
According to a search warrant obtained by 10News a few weeks after the deaths, a note signed by Newby was found inside the home. She wrote that she wanted all her money to go to her son. She stated that she was tired and Emily was having another psych breakdown. That morning, she said Emily started attacking her, but this was it, and she couldn't handle it anymore. She wrote she was sorry.
Investigators said Newby texted her boss the weekend before saying she would be out all week because Emily was having issues and becoming violent. Emily was not at school the few days leading up to their deaths.
