Mom injures children, then herself; all three are dead

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Christina Treadway wanted the world to know about her children’s talents.

On Instagram and YouTube, she posted dozens of videos of the two of them: Iliyah Miller, 3, dancing and singing, and her brother Isaiah Miller, 7, posing on his first day of school.

In many of the videos and photos, often captioned with heart emoji and affectionate comments, Treadway is with her children — sometimes visible, singing with them, sometimes interviewing them from behind the camera.

But when Iliyah and Isaiah were found in a northwest Charlotte home Saturday evening, police said, they were alone.

Officers said they had life-threatening injuries, but didn’t say what they were.

Paramedics and firefighters tried to save the children’s lives during the drive from Sebastiani Drive to Carolinas Medical Center, Medic said, but they were both pronounced dead at the hospital.

Their mother was already dead. Treadway, 34, had jumped from an Interstate 485 bridge two-tenths of a mile from the house, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

Based on an initial investigation, police said Treadway injured her children.

Details beyond that — about exactly what happened in the hours before she headed to the bridge — are not yet clear. Medic, which responded to both scenes, would not release any more information Sunday.

Online, Treadway posted about Isaiah’s achievements in school, and in a few recent YouTube clips, Iliyah talked about science, gesturing to an anatomy poster on the wall. Photos show the kids’ trips to a pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, dressed up in Eagles football jerseys and opening gifts on Christmas morning.

In December, Treadway posted that she had made Iliyah an elaborate birthday outfit, featuring a tutu covered in glitter and a unicorn headband, to match her party’s unicorn theme.

“Iliyah and I have an incredible bond,” Treadway posted on Instagram for her daughter’s birthday. “I’m so sad she is not a baby anymore. I’m looking forward to all her achievements and adventures.”

The Instagram posts say Iliyah was turning 4, although the police report said she was 3.

Treadway occasionally thanked other accounts for promoting posts about her children, and the biography section of an Instagram account in Iliyah’s name said the toddler was a model, singer and actress.