A McCandless, Pa. mother is facing charges related to the death of one of her sons and the injuries of another. She claims that “crazy voices” were influencing her when she sat on them in their bathtub. The boys were critically injured and pulled from the bathtub unconscious.
Laurel Michelle Schlemmer, 40, is currently being held without bail, reports The New York Daily News. She was arrested on Tuesday, after calling 911 to report that her three-year-old son Luke and six-year-old David were unconscious. She was arraigned on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment.
Schlemmer told Allegheny County investigators that she had just dropped 7-year-old son at the school bus at 8:40 a.m. Court documents say that she told Luke and David to take off their pajamas and get in the bath when she returned.
“Schlemmer said after the boys got into the tub she got into the tub 'fully clothed' and 'crazy voices' were telling her to push the boys down into the water,” the complaint reads, reports The Associated Press. “Schlemmer explained that at one point she (was) sitting on top of boys while they were under the water in the tub.”
She also told investigators that she thought she could be a better mother for her older son “if the other two boys weren’t around” and they “would be better off in heaven.”
Neighbors were shocked by the news, notes WPXI. Neighbor Jennie Leonard said that Schlemmer seemed “fine” when she dropped off her older son.
The younger son died at UPMC Passavant Hospital and the older son is still in critical condition at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at UPMC.