MANDAN, ND – A 22-year-old woman is accused of killing two of her children and attempting to kill a third during a Thursday night attack that unfolded inside a residence just northwest of Bismarck. Officers responding to South Frontier Trail found a home marked by blood and a mother allegedly holding a knife to her own throat, according to law enforcement.
Kailey Erhart faces two counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and additional charges including attempted murder, terrorizing, domestic violence resulting in bodily injury, and child abuse, the Mandan Police Department said. Authorities allege the violence began before officers arrived, when Erhart chased the children’s father and grandmother from the home with a knife and threatened the father with a gun.
Officers entered the residence after receiving reports “that the mother had locked herself inside the home with three children and was going to kill them,” Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler said.
Inside the home, police followed what investigators described as a trail of blood to a bedroom where three children were found with severe injuries.
Children found with severe injuries
According to an affidavit, all three children were lying motionless on a bed with cutting, slashing, or stabbing wounds to their necks. A 3-year-old and a 5-month-old died, while a 1-year-old survived after emergency surgery, Ziegler confirmed during a Friday news conference.
“A scene like that is something that nobody should ever have to see in their lifetime,” Ziegler said.
Police said Erhart dropped the knife when confronted and told officers to kill her before being taken into custody. Investigators later said she acknowledged placing the children on the bed after their throats were cut and remembered holding the knife as officers arrived, though she claimed her memory of the night was unclear.
Threats and prior concerns documented
Court documents state that before the stabbings, Erhart allegedly brandished a firearm and threatened the children’s father. In a video recovered by investigators, she is seen holding one of the children with a gun at her side and saying, “Say goodbye to your kids.”
The father told police he managed to disarm the weapon, disassemble it, and scatter the parts throughout the home before calling 911.
Investigators also noted the couple was in the process of separating or divorcing. Authorities said the father had previously expressed concerns about Erhart’s mental health, including alleged statements about wanting to die by suicide and harm the children. Those concerns were known to the state’s child welfare agency, police said.
At the time of the incident, Erhart had recently been in a mental health facility and was on medication but had been cleared to be with the children, according to law enforcement.
No motive has been publicly identified. The surviving child remains under medical care. Erhart is being held at the Burleigh Morton Detention Center on a $3 million bond.
