New York mother Chianti Means sent children over Niagara Falls before suicide jumped in ‘intentional’ act

The New York mother who intentionally jumped to her death in Niagara Falls with her young children sent her children over the railing first, according to a report.

State Park Police said Thursday they were reviewing security footage of Luna Park, a small area near the top of the falls, and were able to confirm the sequence of events in the fatal crash. according to the Niagara Gazette.

Roman Rossman, 9, was the first in the family to enter the water, followed by five-month-old Mecca Means — and then their mother, Chianti Means, 33, state police said at a news conference, according to the Gazette.

When asked if the mother was chasing her children, police officer James O’Callaghan said, “No, we think it was on purpose.”

“I don’t want to get into what the witnesses saw because it’s still an active case, but it’s alarming what they told us,” O’Callaghan said at the news conference, the Niagara Gazette reports.

State and park police officers were called to Goat Island on Monday at 9.30pm after eyewitnesses called to report seeing a woman walking over the falls with her children.

Chianti climbed over a four-foot guardrail Monday night on Luna Island to get to the precipice from which she would lead her children to their deaths.

Investigators have no updates on a motive or cause behind the act, but are looking into whether a mental health crisis or mental illness played a role in the tragic incident, according to the Niagara Gazette.

The State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating but does not expect any charges to be filed, according to the Niagara Gazette.

The fathers of Roman and Mecca are each cooperating with investigators, according to the Niagara Gazette.

Investigators have not yet recovered the bodies of any of the victims.