Retrial Set For Woman Accused Of Trying To Kill 2 Kids, Self

Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Jury selection begins Monday for the retrial of a woman accused of having tried to kill herself and her two young children by piping vehicle exhaust into her car in a Pennsylvania bus station parking lot.

Thirty-four-year-old Melissa Ann Scholl is charged with attempted murder in Luzerne County, where jurors in June deliberated for seven hours but were unable to reach a verdict.

Prosecutors accused her of a "dramatic, self-centered, narcissistic" murder-suicide plan, saying she drove the 7-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl to the lot in December 2015 and strung a hose from the exhaust pipe to a window. A passer-by pulled the hose from the exhaust and called police.

The defense argued that she was simply reaching out for help and had no intention of harming her children.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)