WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP -- A mother from Wilkes-Barre is scheduled to have a hearing later this month on attempted homicide charges. Authorities say she tried to kill her own children.
Police say Melissa Scholl hooked up a hose between her car exhaust pipe and an open window last night in an effort to kill herself and two children in the back seat.
Before the situation could become dire, a bus driver, Robert Shinal, pulled into the parking lot and found what he figured was a car that wasn't supposed to be there.
"I just knew something was out of place. It wasn't right," Shinal said.
The driver saw Scholl with her 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter inside, with the hose coming out of the exhaust pipe. He quickly jumped into action.
"I then blocked the car and pulled the hose out of the window and she gave me her keys no problem, and then I called 911."
Friends of Scholl and people who work at the bus company are calling this a miracle because the bus driver arrived to the parking lot about two hours early, all because his run got canceled.
"To me, he's some kind of hero to save the children, know what I mean?" Bobby DiMaggio of Wilkes-Barre said.
"He took the time. He knew that something was off. He knew that the car didn't belong. He didn't have to approach that vehicle and he did," said bus manager Janelle Davidson.
He doesn't think he's a hero but is glad he acted to save the children, who he also picks up on his daily run to school.
"I'm just glad of the outcome, that the children are safe. I just really can't believe it happened," Shinal said.
But the question remains: "what was Melissa Scholl thinking?"
Text messages obtained by Newswatch 16 provide a glimpse into what might be considered warning signs.
Scholl's mother and father told Newswatch 16 to say they are in disbelief is an understatement.
But Scholl's parents and her family are also relieved that someone was watching over her 7-year-old son Julian and 5-year-old daughter Vera.
Her neighbors on Blackman Street in Wilkes-Barre describe it as very unusual behavior for Scholl.
"Sweet girl, loving with her kids, always playing with them in the backyard, taking them for walks, going up to the playground," said Bobby DiMaggio.
But looking back, neighbors believe there were warning signs. In the past year, Scholl gave birth to twin babies. When she was six months pregnant, the father was killed in a crash. Neighbors tell us two weeks ago, she gave the infants to a friend asking to care for them.
"Seemed like she didn't even care. She said the reason why she gave her kids up for adoption because the father got in a car accident, got killed," said a neighbor.
Text messages Scholl sent to the grandmother of the infants Wednesday afternoon provide a glimpse into the mother's state of mind.
The grandmother says Scholl was talking about her struggles as single mother since her boyfriend passed away.
One text reads, "I miss him so so much."
The grandmother wrote back, "I got the kids some gifts if you need anything like a tree or whatever let me know we will try and help definitely."
Scholl then responds, "thank you for everything/God I miss him / he was so kind to me."
That was the last text message the grandmother received from Scholl. It came about two hours before Scholl was found with the hose pumping carbon monoxide in her car by an observant school bus driver, Robert Shinal.
His company credits him as a hero, but he doesn't want that recognition.
A grandmother of Scholl's two other children gave a hug to the bus driver who may have saved the children's lives.
Many parents in the area who have heard this story say they sympathize, but still cannot understand how Scholl could resort to trying to kill her kids.
"There is definitely postpartum depression, but you need to go to the doctors and seek help. That's why everyone is out there for you, family support systems."
"We also get a lot of calls from people that are under stress from the holiday season," said Tom Foley, director of the Helpline of Northeastern PA.
Foley wants people to know that no matter what a family is going through, there is somewhere to turn.
"We're here to help anybody who has a phone. They can contact us, they can text us, and we'd be happy to help them out. That's what 211 and Helpline is. We're here for everybody."
While the father of Scholl's infant children died in a crash, her other two children involved in Wednesday night's incident have a different father. He's in jail.
Melissa Scholl's preliminary hearing is set for December 23.
7-year-old Julian and 5-year-old Vera are in the custody of Children and Youth, but their grandparents have an appointment in the morning to visit them. They are working to get the children back with family, hoping to have them before the holidays.
