A Florida woman is facing murder and abuse charges after she allegedly tried to give her two autistic adult sons overdoses of medication to kill them before trying to overdose herself.

Marilyn Elise Therrell, 68, was arrested after deputies were called to a home in Kissimmee on September 8 following a report of multiple overdoses.

When emergency crews arrived shortly after 10 am, they reportedly found Therrell and her two sons, Eric, 30 and Thomas Jr, 32, suffering from apparent medication overdoses.

All three were taken to hospital for treatment and are expected to survive.

But investigators later began to suspect that what initially appeared to be a series of accidental overdoses was something far more sinister.

According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, detectives gathered evidence from the home and interviewed a family member and the property’s landlord as they investigated what had happened.

During an interview with detectives on September 17, Therrell allegedly told investigators that she had been struggling to care for her two adult sons, who both have autism, following the death of her husband Thomas N Therrell last year.

Authorities allege that Therrell then admitted intentionally giving the two men overdoses of medication in an attempt to kill them.

Eric and Thomas Jr, now aged 30 and 32, were living with their mother and are both described in the police investigation as having autism.

Authorities have not suggested that autism itself was a cause of the alleged incident. Rather, according to investigators, Therrell said she had found caring for her sons increasingly difficult after her husband’s death.

Therrell was subsequently arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail.

She faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated abuse of a disabled adult. Her bond was set at $50,000, according to court records reviewed by PEOPLE. 

The two men remain hospitalized following the alleged overdoses.

Authorities say they are expected to survive, and once they are discharged, they will be placed under the care of Florida’s Department of Children and Families Adult Protective Services whilst the criminal case against their mother proceeds.

She now faces serious felony charges as authorities continue investigating exactly what happened inside the family home.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation remains ongoing.

Therrell has not been convicted of any crime, and the allegations against her will be addressed through the court process.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Osceola County Sheriff and Therrell for comment.

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