Disturbed NJ mom, charged with killing kids, chooses to stay in jail

☑️ Naomi Elkins is charged with killing her two daughters

☑️ Elkins has a long history of mental illness, her attorney told a judge

☑️ Her attorney believes remaining in jail is in her best interest

LAKEWOOD — The mother charged with drowning her two toddlers in the separate bathtubs will voluntarily remain in jail until her trial.

During a hearing on Monday, attorney Mitchell Ansell told the judge that Naomi Elkins, 25, is still undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and staying in jail is in her "best interest," according to Asbury Park Press coverage.

Elkins has been behind bars at the Ocean County Jail since she admitted killing her two daughters, ages 1 and 3.

Her detention hearing had been scheduled for July 8 but was postponed until Monday to allow for the evaluation. In a statement after Elkins' arrest, Ansell said she had "a well-documented history of severe mental illness which has absolutely played a major role in these devastating events."

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Concerning thoughts

According to the police incident report, Elkins told detectives she was having “concerning thoughts" after coming home from work at a Lakewood daycare center the day before, and that she spent the night praying.

The report goes on to say that after work on Tuesday, Elkins told officials she "believed that she needed to kill the children for religious purposes." Elkins said she stabbed one of her daughters but only "slightly punctured" her, the report said. A knife with a red handle was found in the kitchen sink.

The Lakewood Vaad, a group of business and religious leaders, told the Press that anyone who believes that the deaths had anything to do with religion is a "cruel and heartless anti-Semitie" and called religious involvement in the deaths of the toddlers  a "non-issue."

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