A Lakewood woman who admitted to killing her two daughters has been found not guilty by reason of insanity on Tuesday.
27-year-old Naomi Elkins was charged with two counts of murder after authorities said she drowned her daughters, ages 3 and 1, in separate bathtubs at her Ocean County home on June 25, 2024. Prosecutors said the younger child also suffered stab wounds.
Elkins told investigators she acted based on religious reasons. During the trial, a court-appointed psychologist testified that Elkins believed she was “eliminating evil from the world.”
Judge Guy P. Ryan found that Elkins committed the acts but ruled she was legally insane at the time of the killings. He ordered her committed to a psychiatric facility for two life terms, one for each child.
Prosecutors supported the ruling. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer called the case “a tragedy of epic proportions.”
Emergency responders found the children unresponsive after being called to the family’s home on Shenandoah Drive.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.