A 22-year-old North Dakota mother is behind bars after authorities say she killed two of her young children, seriously injured a third and threatened other family members during a horrifying attack inside a Mandan home.
Kailey Erhart is facing two counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault and one count each of attempted murder, terrorizing, domestic violence resulting in bodily injury and child abuse, according to the Mandan Police Department.
The violence unfolded Thursday evening, Aug. 6, at a home on South Frontier Trail in Mandan, about five miles northwest of Bismarck.
Police were called after receiving reports that a mother had attacked her own children, according to an affidavit cited by KVLY.
When officers entered the home, they allegedly found Erhart covered in blood and holding a kitchen knife to her own throat.
Police said she eventually dropped the knife and told officers to kill her before she was taken into custody.
Investigators then followed a trail of blood through the house.
According to the affidavit, officers reached a bedroom where three young children were found motionless on a bed. Police said all three had suffered severe injuries to their necks.
A 3-year-old child and a 5-month-old baby died from their injuries, Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler said during a Friday news conference.
A 1-year-old child survived after undergoing surgery.
“A scene like that is something that nobody should ever have to see in their lifetime,” Ziegler said, according to the Grand Forks Herald.
Authorities say the violence had already escalated before police arrived.
According to court documents, Erhart allegedly chased the children’s father and grandmother out of the home while armed with a knife.
Before that, she allegedly pointed a gun at the father and threatened to kill him.
The father told investigators he was eventually able to take the gun away from Erhart, disassemble it and scatter the pieces around the house.
Police also obtained cellphone video from the father that allegedly showed Erhart holding one of the children while keeping a handgun at her hip.
According to court documents, she could allegedly be heard saying, “Say goodbye to your kids.”
The father then called 911.
Police Chief Ziegler said dispatchers were initially told that the mother had locked herself inside the home with the three children and was threatening to kill them.
After being read her Miranda rights, Erhart allegedly told investigators she placed the children on the bed after they were injured.
She also said she remembered holding the knife when police arrived but claimed her memory of the rest of the night was unclear, according to authorities.
Investigators said Erhart and the children’s father were in the process of separating or divorcing.
Court documents also state that the father had previously raised concerns about Erhart allegedly expressing thoughts of killing herself and the children.
Police said those earlier concerns had been known to the state’s child welfare agency.
At the time of the attack, Erhart had reportedly been taking medication and had been cleared to be around the children after recently spending time in a mental health facility, according to law enforcement.
Authorities have not publicly identified the children.
Police have also not announced a motive for the attack.
Erhart is being held at the Burleigh Morton Detention Center on $3 million bond.
Another dumb fing looking white woman. Probably a liberal. The world would be better off with them all disappearing.