Mom Covered In Blood Was Charged With Killing Her Three Small Children In Their Florida Home

A mother of three was charged with murder after her partner arrived at their Florida home and discovered their children lying lifeless in their bedroom. The infant was found with a cord wrapped around his neck.

Palm Bay dispatch received a phone call from 33-year-old Jessica McCarty at 6 p.m. on Friday, stating that she had just killed her three children.

She also included that she had slit her wrist and was armed, indicating that she was in preparation of taking her own life.

After speaking with 911-dispatch, she began taking pictures of the bloodied mess from the killing to send to her boyfriend, Christopher Swist, who was the father her youngest son, 5-month-old Christopher.

Police believe it was an attempt to lure Swist to the home.

When Swist arrived, he discovered Jessica’s other two children from a previous relationship – Laci, 7, and Philip, 6, – lying lifeless in the bedroom. He found his son in the same room with a cord wrapped around his neck, but he was still alive.

Palm Bay police says that when they arrived at the home, Jessica was still covered in blood.

Laci and her brother, Phillip, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Paramedics rushed little Christopher to the hospital, but after three days of being on life support at the Florida Hospital for Children, he succumbed to his injuries.

Their community was shocked after hearing of the murders. Neighbor Chris Kapps told reporters at Florida Today that “The kids were very playful; it was a nice, polite family. It’s very tragic to hear something like this touching home, especially to young kids.”

A Florida medical examiner analyzed the bodies on Sunday and confirmed that the children had died from strangulation and had visible lacerations on the body. However, an autopsy report indicated that Laci had also been drowned.

“It’s difficult to understand why these things happen,” said Palm Bay Police Chief Mark Renkens. “The thought of children struggling for their lives is gut-wrenching.”

Police are unclear of the motive, but are executing a thorough background check on the suspect to find out why a mother would want to kill her children.

Renkens stated as follows.

“Indications are that there were some issues with their relationship… We do have leads. My understanding is that she made some utterances. But there’s nothing at this point that would have led us to believe she would have done what she did.”

Jessica was initially charged with two-counts of murder and attempted murder, but when 5-month-old Christopher died three days after the attack, her charges were upgraded.

Information regarding Jessica’s new charges have yet to be released.

[Image courtesy of Bill Lollar/Flickr]