Mom Found Dead At Crash Scene With Her Two Kids Safe In The Car Was Mysteriously Shot, Cops Say

What initially may have appeared as a deadly car crash on a Missouri interstate involving a mother of two is now being investigated as a homicide after police discovered the victim had been shot. 

Melissa Peskey, 40, and her two children, ages 5 and 11, were in a single-car crash on Interstate 70 last week in Boonville. But further investigation, including an autopsy, "indicate that the victim died of a gunshot wound, from a weapon fired from outside the vehicle," Sgt. Scott White, public information and education officer for the Missouri State Highway Patrol told Oxygen.com.

Peskey was found dead in the driver's seat of the car, but the children survived and are now in foster care, FOX 2 of St. Louis reports.

Investigators have received more than 65 leads in connection with the mysterious shooting, White told Oxygen.com. Even though nobody is in custody, "there is not any evidence, nor any indication that the public is in danger" at this point, White told Oxygen.com.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is asking for help tracking down Peskey's killer.

In a tweet, they wrote, "Help us find who killed Melissa. Report tips to (573) 751-1000."

Ryan Peskey, Melissa's husband, told KELO-TV in Sioux Falls that he is being considered a “person of interest" in his wife's death. He said that his family was en route from South Dakota to North Carolina to visit friends. The husband claims that he is being considered a person of interest because he was sleeping at the time of the crash and didn't answer the phone when police initially tried to contact him.

Melissa Peskey

White, however, told Oxygen.com that law enforcement officials are not prepared to discuss any potential suspects, witnesses or other leads. They did confirm that nobody has been arrested in connection with the incident. 

Ryan Peskey recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan and Melissa Peskey worked as a realtor.

[Photo: Facebook]