Maryland woman killed by heatstroke had mental problems: medical examiner

ANNAPOLIS Md. (Reuters) - A Maryland mother who was found dead in June inside a car along with her two infant daughters had a history of mental problems, the state medical examiner's office said on Wednesday. Family members said the mother, Allison Pluck, 32, was mentally ill and suffering from hallucinations and paranoia, according to an autopsy report from the medical examiner's office. "The circumstances around the death make it most likely that the decedent had some sort of psychological break," Dr. Russell Alexander wrote in the report. "Although it is not possible to know what she was thinking, the circumstances and previous history of paranoid behavior suggest that she did not anticipate that her actions would result in the deaths of herself and her children."Pluck bought a DVD player at an area Walmart where witnesses said she acted strangely, according to the report."She did not respond to a verbal greeting from a cashier. She also ran her hands over the exterior of the box for at least three minutes while at the cashier to purchase it," the report said.Another employee said Pluck "looked like she wasn't quite with it." Police discovered Pluck and her daughters Shameka Gill and Shania Gill, ages 5 months and 18 months, unresponsive in a vehicle outside a Hagerstown school on June 16. The cause of death was hyperthermia and environmental heat exposure, medical examiner's spokesman Bruce Goldfarb said. Pluck was found in the reclined front seat of a small, silver-colored car. The daughters were in the back in safety seats, police have said. The car was unlocked and the ignition was off. (Reporting by John Clarke; Editing by Scott Malone and Eric Beech)