SHOCKING STATEMENT TO POLICE FROM 22-YEAR-OLD MOTHER KAYLEE HEHART, ACCUSED OF TAKING HER CHILDREN’S LIVES IN FRONT OF THEIR FATHER: “I DON’T REMEMBER EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED.”
SHOCKING STATEMENT TO POLICE FROM 22-YEAR-OLD MOTHER KAYLEE HEHART, ACCUSED OF TAKING HER CHILDREN’S LIVES IN FRONT OF THEIR FATHER: “I DON’T REMEMBER EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED.”
“I Don’t Remember Everything That Happened”: What Kailey Erhart Told Investigators
The most disturbing details in the case involving 22-year-old Kailey Erhart may not come only from what investigators say they found inside the Mandan, North Dakota, home, but from what Erhart herself reportedly told police after she was taken into custody. According to an arrest affidavit cited by Valley News Live, Erhart told investigators that she remembered having a kitchen knife in her hands when officers arrived, but said she did not remember everything that had happened before that moment. Her statement has become a central and deeply troubling element of the investigation because it raises questions about what she remembers, what she does not remember, and what may have happened during the critical moments before police entered the home.
The case began on August 6, when Mandan police were dispatched to a residence on South Frontier Trail following a report that a mother had stabbed her children. When officers arrived, they encountered a scene of extreme distress. According to the affidavit, an officer found Erhart inside the home, covered in blood and holding a kitchen knife against her own throat. Police say she eventually dropped the knife and told officers to kill her before being taken into custody.
Investigators then followed a trail of blood through the residence. Inside a bedroom, they discovered three young children lying motionless on a bed. All three had suffered severe injuries concentrated around their necks. A five-month-old child later died at St. Alexius Medical Center, while a three-year-old died at Sanford Health the following morning. A one-year-old child survived after undergoing surgery.
But it was during the subsequent questioning of Erhart that investigators reportedly received a statement that could become especially significant as the case moves through court.
After being advised of her Miranda rights, Erhart allegedly told investigators that she had placed the children on the bed. She reportedly said she believed their throats had been cut before she placed them there. She also said she remembered holding the knife when police arrived, but did not remember everything that had happened.
That statement is striking because it leaves a crucial gap in the timeline.
What happened during the period Erhart says she cannot fully remember? What does she remember clearly? And can her account be reconciled with the physical evidence, witness statements and video investigators recovered?
Those questions could become increasingly important as prosecutors attempt to reconstruct the sequence of events inside the home.
According to the affidavit, the children’s father provided investigators with another crucial piece of evidence: video recovered from his phone. The footage allegedly shows Erhart carrying one of the children while holding a pistol at her hip. During the confrontation, she reportedly told the children’s father, “Say goodbye to your kids.”
The statement is particularly disturbing when considered alongside Erhart’s later claim that she could not remember everything that happened. Investigators will have to determine exactly what occurred between the confrontation captured on video and the moment officers entered the home.
The affidavit also describes a rapidly escalating confrontation before police arrived. Erhart allegedly chased the children’s father and grandmother out of the residence while holding a knife. The father reportedly managed to wrestle a pistol away from her and then disassembled it, throwing the pieces throughout the house so the weapon could no longer be used. Erhart allegedly then locked him outside.
By the time officers arrived, the situation had reached a critical point.
The father’s account, the video evidence and Erhart’s own reported statements now form three important pieces of the investigation. Each could help authorities establish what happened, although Erhart’s reported inability to recall the entire sequence leaves important questions unanswered.
The affidavit also provides information about circumstances that preceded the tragedy. Erhart and the children’s father were reportedly in the process of separating. The father had previously reported concerns to mental-health services, alleging that Erhart had threatened to harm herself and the children. Child Protective Services had reportedly been informed of those threats.
According to the affidavit, Erhart had also been committed to a mental-health facility within the previous 12 to 18 months. She had reportedly received medication and had later been cleared to be around her children.
Those details have generated questions about whether earlier warning signs could have indicated a serious danger. However, investigators have not publicly established that mental-health treatment caused the alleged violence, and it would be misleading to make such a conclusion. A history of mental-health treatment alone does not explain violent behavior or establish criminal intent.
For now, Erhart’s reported statement remains one of the most important and unsettling elements of the case.
She allegedly remembered holding the knife when police arrived. She reportedly remembered placing the children on the bed. Yet she also told investigators that she did not remember everything that had happened.
That distinction could become critical.
As the investigation continues, prosecutors will likely examine her statement alongside the video, the father’s account, the physical evidence inside the residence and the medical findings involving the three children. The court will ultimately have to determine what happened and what responsibility Erhart bears for the alleged acts.
Erhart faces two counts of murder, attempted murder, two counts of terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, three counts of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor domestic-violence charge.
The allegations remain allegations unless proven in court. But one sentence from Erhart’s reported interview has already become a haunting part of the case: she remembered having the knife in her hands, but she said she did not remember everything that happened.
For investigators, that missing portion of memory may be one of the most important pieces of the entire story.
