NJ mom worked at day care same day she drowned her toddlers for ‘religious purposes’: cops
The New Jersey mother and daycare worker accused of drowning her toddler daughters told police she murdered her children for “religious purposes” – as her family confirmed that she had a history of “severe mental illness.”
Naomi Elkins, 27, was arrested at her home in Lakewood on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after her 1- and 3-year-old daughters were pronounced dead by emergency medical services.
Elkins told the authorities that she “needed to kill the children for religious purposes” after they got home from a Giggles Daycare that she worked at and her daughters attended, the arrest documents obtained by The Post said.
Elkins told police that she stabbed and “slightly punctured” one of her daughters with a knife before running a bath.
She then allegedly brought one of the children into the bathroom and held her underwater for two to three minutes.
At that point, Elkins said, the other child ran into the second bathroom screaming.
Elkins followed the girl and ran a bath in that room, in which she then placed the child and held her underwater.
“She said that she counted to 50 multiple times to ensure she held them underwater for enough time,” the criminal complaint stated.
Elkins told police she then realized she had done something wrong, and called the Hatzolah Medical Services, saying that she hurt her children.
Elkins originally reached the Hatzolah branch in Brooklyn, but eventually made contact with the Lakewood service, the document said.
According to Elkins, she went outside the family’s home to direct the first responders to her children, who were both found naked and wet.
The Hatzolah volunteers alerted the Lakewood police to the scene, where both children were pronounced dead shortly after 5 p.m.
One of the children was found with a “deep laceration in the middle of her stomach and a superficial wound on the left side of her back,” the police document said.
Officers later found a serrated knife with a red handle in the hallway bathroom sink.
The owner of the Lakewood home, Avigdor Weintraub, and his children were upstairs in the main part of the house when the killings took place, law enforcement said.
Weintraub, 40, told law enforcement that he rented the basement apartment of the residence to Elkins and her husband, Edward Wiseman, 26.
It was not immediately clear where Wiseman was at the time of the incident. Elkins told police that she previously struggled with bad feelings on May 24, when her husband left on a business trip.
During her interview with police, Elkins “indicated that she knew that it was illegal to kill her children and that what she did was wrong,” the write-up noted.
Detective Alex Bromley of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crime Unit had Elkins write a letter to the children.
Elkins’ letter — which mentioned “killing her children” — was then collected as evidence.
Elkins appeared virtually at a brief hearing on Wednesday afternoon, NJ.com reported.
The footage indicated that she was being held in the medical wing of the Ocean County Correctional Facility, though it was unclear why she was being kept there, the outlet reported.
Elkins did not speak during the proceedings. Her first formal court appearance is scheduled for Monday morning.
“The Elkins Family is deeply saddened by the tragic events that have occurred involving Naomi Elkins and her two young children,” the young mother’s family said in a statement shared by her defense attorney Thursday afternoon.
“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,” the statement continued.
“While we acknowledge the seriousness of the charges that she is facing and respect same (sic), we also believe that it’s important to recognize the incredible complexities presented by mental health challenges.
“We are committed to pursuing the most just and fair outcome through the legal system taking into account all of the circumstances involved.”
Elkins is represented by Michael Ansell – well-known southern New Jersey attorney who defended Bruce Springsteen from a DWi.
Elkins’ arrest sent shockwaves through Lakewood, which is home to a large Orthodox Jewish community, the Asbury Park Press reported.
“Right now everyone’s in absolute and total shock,” Herschel Herskowitz, a local activist, told the outlet.
“Her family is well known in the community,” he said of Elkins. “As big as Lakewood gets, it is still a small town. When things like this happen, people go into their shell and don’t talk about it.”
“I think people are in shock, I don’t think our community has dealt with a tragedy of this magnitude,” added Shlomo Schorr, director of legislative affairs for Agudah Israel of New Jersey.
Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, the spokesperson for the Lakewood Vaad, a group of local Orthodox residents and business owners, said the killings “shook our collective essense to the core.”
“Now begins the time for prayer, support and healing. May the souls of our dear departed children be blessed with the eternal radiance of the Almighty as we pray for the healing and well-being of their family and the greater family of the Lakewood community,” he said.
