LAKEWOOD - A judge Monday postponed a hearing to determine whether a Lakewood woman will remain incarcerated without bail to await trial in the murders of her two toddlers.
Superior Court Judge Pamela Snyder granted a request by Naomi Elkins' attorney to adjourn the detention hearing, which had been scheduled to take place Monday.
Snyder rescheduled the hearing for July 8.
Elkins, 27, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with the murders of her two daughters , ages 1 and 3.
She also is charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Appearing virtually before Snyder during a brief proceeding, Elkins calmly acknowledged that her attorney read the charges to her and that she viewed a video explaining her rights.
Her attorney, Mitchell Ansell, then requested that the proceeding be adjourned.
Ansell has said that Elkins has "a well-documented history of severe mental illness , which has absolutely played a major role in these devastating events."
Elkins told police she prayed before stabbing her 1-year-old daughter and holding her underwater in a bathtub for two to three minutes. She told police she then drowned her 3-year-old daughter in another bathtub, according to a police document.
Elkins said she believed she had to kill her children "for religious reasons," the police document said.
The killings occurred when Elkins returned to her Shanandoah Drive home with her children after working a shift at Giggl Daycare in Lakewood, the police document said.
Elkins is being held without bail at the Ocean County Jail.
Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com .
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Judge postpones jail hearing for Lakewood mom accused of murdering her two toddlers
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