Bond set at $5M for Kenosha woman held in child slayings

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Kenosha (AP) — A $5 million cash bond was set Monday for a Kenosha woman awaiting formal charges in the killings of her two young children who were found dead in an apartment.

The 34-year-woman is due back in court for an initial appearance on Thursday, according to the Kenosha News.

Kenosha Police Chief John Morrissey said the children — a 1-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl — were killed by their mother, who carefully planned their deaths before stabbing herself eight times in an attempt to take her own life. Morrissey said the children were found early Saturday after their father returned home from work, and it appeared they were medicated and suffocated.

Autopsies were scheduled Monday. The woman remains in custody, according to online jail records.

The father is “extremely devastated,” Morrissey said, and is not a suspect.

“At the residence, there is significant evidence that the biological mother is the individual who killed her two children,” Morrissey said. “It was her intent that she die as well. … It is our intent to refer charges of homicide, two counts, against the individual.”

The Associated Press is not naming the woman because she hasn’t been charged.

Morrissey said the killings were premeditated because the woman mailed a package to her sister the day before that contained a cryptic note.

A journal outlining what was done to each child and when they stopped breathing was also found at the home.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered for a vigil Sunday in front of the family’s house. Friends and neighbors left stuffed animals and flowers and lit candles.

“It is very shocking, I can’t believe it,” said family friend Stephanie Espinosa. “I used to babysit them. … I’ve been praying for support for this family.”

Espinosa said she hopes people will not judge the mother because “nobody knows what is going on with her, what really happened in her mind.”

Neighbors said they often saw the children playing in the yard.

“They were very quiet people; there was no fighting, no arguing,” said Kim Yoakum, who lives next door. “The kids were happy. They were good kids.”