Two children later died, a third survived surgery and their mother now faces nine charges in a case awaiting an October court hearing.
MANDAN, N.D. — The information reaching Mandan police on the evening of Aug. 6 was urgent: A mother was inside a home with three young children, and dispatchers had been told the children were in immediate danger. Minutes later, officers entered a scene that would become a double-homicide investigation.
The police response at the South Frontier Trail residence forms the core of the criminal case now pending against Kailey Renae Erhart, 22. Authorities say a 5-month-old and a 3-year-old died after suffering severe cutting injuries, while a 1-year-old survived following surgery. Erhart is charged with two counts of murder, attempted murder and six other offenses. She remains jailed on $3 million cash bond and is scheduled to return to court Oct. 6. The charges are allegations, and no finding of guilt has been made.
Police said officers were dispatched at about 5:42 p.m. Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler later said the initial information relayed to officers was that a mother had locked herself inside with the three children and was threatening to kill them. An affidavit described by local television stations says the first officer entering the house encountered Erhart holding a kitchen knife near her own throat. Police said she had blood on her and told officers to kill her before dropping the weapon. She was then taken into custody while other officers continued through the residence to locate the children.
What officers found changed the nature of the call immediately. According to the affidavit, they followed blood through the residence to a bedroom, where the three children were found motionless on a bed. Authorities reported serious injuries around their necks. Police and emergency medical workers began the process of getting all three children to hospitals in Bismarck. The scene was so difficult that Ziegler later focused part of his public briefing on the officers who entered, saying the experience was something nobody should have to encounter and praising their response under extreme circumstances.
The children’s outcomes unfolded over several hours. The 5-month-old died at St. Alexius Medical Center on the evening of Aug. 6, according to local reporting based on the affidavit. The 3-year-old was taken to Sanford Health and died early the next morning. The 1-year-old underwent surgery. Police initially released little about that child’s medical condition beyond confirming treatment, but an Aug. 10 family update reported by KFYR said doctors expected a full physical recovery. The children’s names were not released in the police accounts of the case, preserving their privacy while the investigation proceeded.
The emergency response was only the end of a confrontation that investigators say had been developing inside the home before the 911 call. The children’s father told police Erhart had threatened him with a handgun, according to the affidavit. He said he was able to take the gun away, disassemble it and throw the pieces around the house so it could not immediately be used. Court records cited in local reporting say he suffered scratches and a bite during the struggle. The children’s grandmother was also at the residence during the confrontation.
Investigators obtained a cellphone video that they say captured part of the encounter. According to the affidavit, the video showed Erhart holding one of the children while carrying a pistol at her hip. Police say she told the children’s father, “Say goodbye to your kids.” The father later called 911. The affidavit states that Erhart subsequently chased both the father and the grandmother from the house with a knife and locked the door behind them, leaving the children inside with her. Those allegations are part of the state’s case and have not yet been tested through testimony at trial.
The father also gave police information about the family’s circumstances before that evening. He said he and Erhart were separating and that he planned to seek a divorce, according to the affidavit. He told investigators she had previously spoken about dying by suicide and killing the children. Authorities said those earlier concerns had been brought to mental health services and were known to child welfare officials. The affidavit also says Erhart had been treated at a mental health facility within roughly the previous 12 to 18 months and was taking medication. Police said she had been cleared to be with the children at the time.
Those details have raised questions about events before the attack, but public records available so far do not establish a motive or explain what caused the violence that evening. Authorities have not announced a psychiatric diagnosis as the cause of the alleged crimes, and Erhart’s defense has not publicly presented an insanity or similar defense in the proceedings covered to date. Her reported treatment history is therefore part of the factual background described by investigators, not an explanation that has been established by the court.
After her arrest, police said Erhart was advised of her Miranda rights and spoke with investigators. The affidavit says she remembered having the knife in her hands when officers arrived but reported that she did not remember everything that had happened. Investigators also attributed to her a statement about putting the children on the bed after they had been injured. Because the case remains pending, those reported statements are evidence alleged by investigators rather than established findings. Prosecutors will bear the burden of proving the criminal charges if the case proceeds to trial.
The formal case includes two Class AA felony murder counts, a Class A felony attempted-murder count, three aggravated-assault counts, two counts of terrorizing with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor domestic-violence count, according to reporting based on Morton County court records. At Erhart’s first appearance, the judge imposed a $3 million cash bond. The court also ordered her to have no contact with surviving victims. She remained in the Burleigh Morton Detention Center in the latest available reporting.
Public access to additional investigative material narrowed less than two weeks after the attack. On Aug. 19, Judge Marina Spahr approved a request supported by both prosecutors and the defense that bars release of videos, photographs and investigative documents while the case remains unresolved. The parties cited the need to safeguard an impartial trial, prevent potential jurors from being exposed to evidence outside court and protect the victims’ privacy. That order is particularly significant in a case where cellphone video and other evidence were described in early charging documents before the restriction took effect.
The next major step is scheduled for Oct. 6, when Erhart is due for a preliminary hearing and arraignment. Until then, the public record consists largely of police statements, the charging affidavit and the limited information released during her first appearance. The surviving child has been reported as recovering physically, while two siblings died. What happened legally after the emergency response will now be determined through the court process, where prosecutors must prove the allegations and the defense will have an opportunity to challenge the state’s evidence.
Author note: Last updated September 21, 2026.