A North Dakota mother accused in the Mandan stabbings allegedly told the children’s father, “Say goodbye to your kids,” moments before two of their young children were killed, according to court records. Kailey Erhart, 22, now faces murder and multiple other charges after police say a violent scene unfolded inside a home in Mandan on Aug. 6.
Authorities say Erhart is charged with two counts of murder, attempted murder, two counts of terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, three counts of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor count of domestic violence. Investigators say she waved a gun at her estranged husband, Cameron, threatened to kill herself and then fatally stabbed the couple’s 5-month-old and 3-year-old children. A 1-year-old child survived the attack, police said. Newly released video reviewed by investigators reportedly shows Erhart holding one child while a pistol rested at her hip as she spoke to the father.
Police were called after a report that a mother had stabbed her children. When officers reached the house, Erhart was covered in blood and holding a kitchen knife to her throat, according to a Mandan Police affidavit obtained by Valley News Live. She dropped the knife and told officers to kill her, the court documents say. Officers then followed a trail of blood to a bedroom, where they found the three children on a bed with knife wounds to their necks. The 5-month-old died that night at Sanford Health, and the 3-year-old died Friday morning at Sanford Health.
Before officers arrived, investigators say Erhart chased the children’s father and grandmother out of the home with a knife. The father later told investigators that he wrestled a pistol away from her just before they were locked outside and broke it apart, scattering the pieces around the house, according to the affidavit. Erhart later told police she believed the children’s throats had been cut before she put them on the bed. She also told investigators she remembered holding the knife when police arrived but said she did not remember anything else.
