TOMS RIVER — A Lakewood woman accused of killing her two toddlers appeared in court Monday and agreed to be locked up in the Ocean County Jail to await trial on two counts of murder.
Naomi Elkins, 27, told Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan that she was voluntarily waiving her right to have a hearing to determine if she would be held without bail pending trial.
She responded, "Yes,'' when the judge asked her if she understood each of her rights.
Elkins has been in jail since June 25, when she was arrested and charged with the murders of her two daughters, ages 1 and 3.
Police allege Elkins stabbed her 1-year-old daughter and drowned her in a bathtub in her Shenandoah Drive home on June 25, before drowning her 3-year-old daughter in another tub.
Elkins told police she prayed before killing her children "for religious reasons,'' upon returning home with the toddlers after working a shift at Giggl Daycare in Lakewood.
Her attorney, Mitchell Ansell, previously said that Elkins "has a well-documented history of severe mental illness, which has absolutely played a major role in these devastating events.''
In court on July 8, Ansell asked for an adjournment of Elkins' detention hearing until today so that she could undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
After today's brief court proceeding, he said she is still undergoing that evaluation.
When asked why she waived her right to a detention hearing, Ansell responded, "We felt it was in Naomi's best interest to do that at this time.''
Ryan scheduled a pre-indictment conference for Elkins for Oct. 7.
In addition to two counts of murder, Elkins is charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Naomi Elkins, Lakewood woman charged with killing her two toddlers, agrees to stay in jail
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