Lawyer for lakewood mother who killed her children for religious reasons cites mental illness

LAKEWOOD, N.J. — According to court documents and statements from the lawyer representing a Lakewood mother who stabbed one of her children and drowned that child and another, is blaming a long term mental illness on the tragic event.

Naomi Elkins, 27, faces charges including two counts of murder after allegedly drowning her daughters, aged 1 and 3, following disturbing thoughts she described as religiously motivated, according to recently filed charging documents.

Elkins reportedly told police she, “believed that she needed to kill the children for religious purposes.”

Elkins, a mother of two, reportedly returned home from work at Lakewood daycare on June 25 with her daughters, whose names have been withheld. Allegedly believing she needed to kill them for religious reasons, she drowned them after an earlier incident involving stabbing one of them.

Authorities state Elkins recounted the events in which she held each child underwater for several minutes, prompting emergency calls that tragically ended in their deaths due to pediatric cardiac arrest.

Scheduled for a detention hearing on Monday, July 1 at 9 a.m. in Ocean County Superior Court, Elkins remains in custody at Ocean County Jail, although at this time, her name, booking information, and booking photograph have been removed from the Ocean County Jail inmate search database.

Her defense attorney acknowledged her history of severe mental illness, emphasizing its role in the case and urging support for all affected by the tragedy.

In a statement, Elkins’s lawyer, Mitchell J. Ansell, addressed the case’s complexities, saying, “The sad truth is, Naomi Elkins has a well-documented history of severe mental illness which has absolutely played a major role in these devastating events.” Ansell expressed deep sorrow on behalf of the Elkins family, describing them as “deeply saddened by the tragic events that have occurred involving Naomi Elkins and her two young children.”

Elkins’s alleged actions unfolded after she returned from work on June 25. According to charging documents reviewed and detailed by News 12, she believed that she needed to kill her daughters for religious purposes. The documents detail a disturbing sequence where Elkins first stabbed one of her daughters, then held each child underwater in separate incidents.

“She ran a bath and put [one daughter] in the tub and [held] her underwater,” the charging documents stated. Elkins later repeated this with her other daughter, who fled to another bathroom in fear. Both girls were pronounced dead from pediatric cardiac arrest shortly after emergency responders arrived, responding to calls made by Elkins herself.

The severity of the incident is reflected in the charging documents, which noted one child had a “deep laceration” through her stomach and a superficial stab wound on her back. During questioning, Elkins allegedly admitted wrongdoing and even wrote a letter to her daughters at the suggestion of a detective, referencing the killings.

Upon her arrest, Elkins was booked into Ocean County Jail, awaiting a pretrial release hearing on July 1st.

Ansell emphasized the importance of considering Elkins’s mental health challenges in the legal process. “We are committed to pursuing the most just and fair outcome through the legal system taking into account all of the circumstances involved,” he stated.

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