Texas mother reported missing found dead in car with 3 children alive in the back seat

DALLAS (REUTERS) - A woman from a Dallas suburb who was reported missing this week was found dead inside her sport-utility vehicle in a shopping centre carpark with her three children alive in the back seat, the police said last Friday (April 1).

Police in Frisco, about 40km north of Dallas, discovered the body of Ms Christine Woo, 39, in a Honda Pilot at a Target parking lot on Thursday evening.

The cause of death has not yet been determined. Police would not say if there were signs of trauma on Ms Woo.

The children, a five-year-old girl, three-year-old boy and one-year-old girl, were taken to a hospital for evaluation, the police said.

The local media reported that they were severely dehydrated.

Mr Brandon Woo, her husband, reported on Tuesday that his family had been missing since Monday, the police said.

Surveillance video released by the authorities showed the mother and her children shopping at a local drug store the same day about 24km from where she was found dead.

"She's a loving mother," her husband told local TV station WFAA.

"She's like a lioness, she would fight for her kids, she would never hurt her kids at all."

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