Palm Bay police chief: 2 children were strangled, one was strangled & drowned. Mom held without bond. #local6 pic.twitter.com/pdPEdHu8Et
— Erik Sandoval (@ErikSandoval) March 23, 2015
(Palm Bay)–A mother of three children is facing murder charges following the deaths of two of her children and an attempted murder charge for the critical injuries to her third child. Jessica Lacey McCarty, (DOB 03/12/1982) is now in police custody and deputies with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office are in the process of transporting her to the Brevard County Detention Center where she will be held without bond on the charges.
At 5:57 PM Friday emergency dispatchers received a 9-1-1 call from a woman claiming to have killed her three children in a home on Kenmore St. NW. Seconds later emergency dispatchers received another 9-1-1 call from a man claiming to be the woman’s boyfriend and the father of one of the children. The caller reported his child was not breathing.
When police officers arrived at the home there was a woman in the front yard armed with a knife. She did not comply with repeated commands from officers to drop the knife which led the officers to deploy several “less lethal” bean bag rounds to gain compliance.
The woman was then taken into custody. The officers then located three unresponsive children who were later transported to the hospital. The children are identified as Laci McCarty, (DOB 06/13/2007), deceased, Philip McCarty, (DOB 06/30/2008), deceased and Christopher Swist, (DOB 10/08/2014). Swist remains listed in critical condition at an Orlando hospital.
An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday and a cause of death has not been confirmed. “We are still trying to verify the sequence of events, how and why they occurred,” said Lieutenant Mario Augello of the Criminal Investigations Division. “This is still a very active criminal investigation and our priority as always is making sure we have the right answers so there can be justice in the deaths and injuries of these innocent children.”
Detectives are still reviewing the 9-1-1 calls which will not be released due to its relevance in the criminal investigation. McCarty will face a judge within 24 hours to address the criminal charges and issues relating to her bond. ## (photo is from 2009 arrest for prescription fraud).
Palm Bay police chief: 2 children were strangled, one was strangled & drowned. Mom held without bond. #local6 pic.twitter.com/pdPEdHu8Et
