A North Dakota mother, Kailey Erhart, 22, is accused of fatally stabbing two of her three young children and severely injuring the third in an incident on August 6. According to a new affidavit, Erhart allegedly showed the children's father a video of herself holding one of the children and threatening, "Say goodbye to your kids" moments before the attack.
Authorities responded to a report of a mother stabbing her children at a home in Mandan. Upon arrival, officers found Erhart covered in blood and holding a kitchen knife to her own throat. She dropped the knife and asked officers to kill her. Investigators followed a trail of blood to a bedroom where they discovered three young children with knife wounds. The 5-month-old and 3-year-old were pronounced dead at local hospitals, while a 1-year-old survived.
Investigators recovered the video showing Erhart holding a pistol and making the alleged threat to the father. The father told investigators that moments before being chased out of the house with a knife, he had wrestled a pistol away from Erhart, disassembled it, and scattered the parts throughout the home.
Erhart faces charges including two counts of murder, attempted murder, terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault, and domestic violence. She told investigators after her arrest that she believed the children's throats had been cut before she placed them on the bed. She stated she had the knife when officers arrived but claimed no memory of further events.
The affidavit also indicates the couple was separating and that the father had previously reported Erhart to state mental health services for threatening him and the children. Erhart had been committed to a mental health facility within the last 12 to 18 months and was placed on medication, but was cleared to be around the children at the time of the incident.
During her first court appearance, bond was set at $3 million cash due to the extreme violence of the alleged charges and the threat to the community and victims. Erhart has not yet entered a plea, and her next court date is scheduled for October 6. A GoFundMe page has been established to raise funds for the children's funeral costs and the medical care of the surviving child, having raised nearly $27,000 toward a $30,000 goal as of Monday morning.