A Lakewood, New Jersey mother has been arrested for the killings of her two young children, both of who were allegedly drowned in the bathtub of her Ocean County home, officials announced Wednesday.
Naomi Elkins was taken into custody Tuesday night and charged with two counts of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to a press release from Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. Police were called to her home in Lakewood, along Shenandoah Drive, Tuesday evening to investigate reports of two children suffering cardiac arrest.
When officers arrived on the scene around 4:50 p.m., first responders from Hatzolah Medical Services were already working to resuscitate two unresponsive little girls, ages 1 and 3 years old. Despite their lifesaving efforts, both children were pronounced dead on the scene a short time later, according to the release.
“A subsequent investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that both victims were Elkins’ children,” Billhimer said, praising each agency for their quick work in the case.
Authorities also concluded the girls were drowned, and that the younger of the two also suffered a stab wound.
“Continuing investigation revealed that Elkins was responsible for the deaths of both of her children,” the prosecutor added.
Billhimer did not provide further details, but a source told NBC Philadelphia that 27-year-old Elkins drowned her daughters in the bathtub. She was taken into custody without incident and remained behind bars Wednesday morning at the Ocean County Jail, where she will remain until her upcoming detention hearing.
An investigation into the matter is ongoing.