A New Jersey woman who killed her two daughters in what she described as a “religious” act to purify the world has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. The ruling, delivered last week by Superior Court Judge Guy Ryan, acknowledged Naomi Elkins ’ responsibility for the deaths but deemed her criminally insane at the time of the murders.
Elkins, 27, drowned her daughters—aged 1 and 3—in the bathtub of their Lakewood home on June 25. According to prosecutors, she had picked them up from Giggles Daycare, where she also worked, before fatally stabbing the younger child and then drowning her.
When the older child witnessed the horror and attempted to hide in a separate bathroom, Elkins followed, started a second bath, and drowned her as well.
Psychologist Gianni Pirelli, who testified during the trial, said Elkins suffered from postpartum psychosis and believed she was either the Messiah or a descendant of Hitler. “She thought that if she destroyed her children, she would be destroying all the evil in the world,” he explained.
Authorities said Elkins had admitted to the killings, telling investigators she counted to 50 multiple times while holding each child underwater to make sure they were dead. A letter she wrote to her daughters was described as reading “more as a letter to God,” according to Pirelli.
“She was undoubtedly psychotic,” he told the court.
After committing the murders, Elkins contacted Hatzolah Medical Services and confessed that she had harmed her children. Both were declared dead at the scene.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer did not contest the insanity ruling. Judge Ryan sentenced Elkins to two life terms—equating to 150 years in a secure psychiatric facility, as mandated under state law. Defense attorney Mitchell Ansell stated that her mental condition will be regularly assessed by the court. Elkins will remain institutionalized unless she is deemed no longer a threat to herself or others.
Elkins, 27, drowned her daughters—aged 1 and 3—in the bathtub of their Lakewood home on June 25. According to prosecutors, she had picked them up from Giggles Daycare, where she also worked, before fatally stabbing the younger child and then drowning her.
When the older child witnessed the horror and attempted to hide in a separate bathroom, Elkins followed, started a second bath, and drowned her as well.
Psychologist Gianni Pirelli, who testified during the trial, said Elkins suffered from postpartum psychosis and believed she was either the Messiah or a descendant of Hitler. “She thought that if she destroyed her children, she would be destroying all the evil in the world,” he explained.
Authorities said Elkins had admitted to the killings, telling investigators she counted to 50 multiple times while holding each child underwater to make sure they were dead. A letter she wrote to her daughters was described as reading “more as a letter to God,” according to Pirelli.
“She was undoubtedly psychotic,” he told the court.
After committing the murders, Elkins contacted Hatzolah Medical Services and confessed that she had harmed her children. Both were declared dead at the scene.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer did not contest the insanity ruling. Judge Ryan sentenced Elkins to two life terms—equating to 150 years in a secure psychiatric facility, as mandated under state law. Defense attorney Mitchell Ansell stated that her mental condition will be regularly assessed by the court. Elkins will remain institutionalized unless she is deemed no longer a threat to herself or others.
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