A Missouri mother who set her own home on fire, killing her four children, was in an awful place due to ongoing custody disputes with both her ex-husband and ex-boyfriend, her family told police this week.

Bernadine Birdie Pruessner, 39, intentionally set fire to a mattress inside her home in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday, in what was deemed a murder-suicide, according to a St. Louis County Police press release shared with HuffPost.

Police identified Pruessners children as Ellie and Ivy Pruessner, 9; Jackson Spader, 6; and Millie Spader, 2. Three dogs were also killed in the fire.