LAKEWOOD, NJ – We learn new information about a Lakewood, New Jersey mother charged with murdering her two children.
Naomi Elkins allegedly drowned her two young girls in a bathtub, court documents show.
According to recently released court documents, Elkins lived in a basement apartment of a two-family home with her two girls and her husband, who was out of town on Tuesday when the tragedy occurred.
Elkins called Hatzolah Medical Service and told them she had hurt her children. When medics arrived, they unsuccessfully attempted CPR to revive the girls, 1 and 3. One of the children also had a stab wound in her stomach.
In an interview with police, Elkins allegedly told investigators she had been having “worrying thoughts” and had spent the night praying, and the next day after work, “when she got home, she believed she had to kill the children for religious purposes.”
After stabbing one of her children, she then held her under water for several minutes while her other child ran to another bathroom because she was scared, according to court documents. Elkins then went into that other bathroom and drowned her.
She then “realized she had done something wrong” and called Hatzolah, court documents said.
A responding detective asked her if she would write a letter to her children, which Elkins did. The letter referenced her children’s murders and was collected as evidence, according to court documents.
In a statement ThursdayAccording to Elkins’ attorney, she “has a well-documented history of serious mental illness, which absolutely played a major role in these devastating events.”
Elkins is due back in court on July 1.
