Montana mom accused of killing her 2 young kids with steak knife

MISSOULA, Mont. (TCD) -- A 34-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly killing her two young children with a steak knife.

According to the Missoulian, Leannah Gardipe is charged with two counts of deliberate homicide. Missoula County Jail records show her bond was set at $10 million.

According to court documents provided by NBC Montana, on Nov. 19 at 8:06 a.m. the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a homicide on Patty Ann Drive. Gardipe’s mother called 911 and said Gardipe told her she "saved her babies." Gardipe’s mother assumed Gardipe was referring to her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. The mother reportedly asked Gardipe if she killed her kids, and Gardipe reportedly started crying.

The court documents say Gardipe called 911 moments after her mother did. Gardipe reportedly said she wanted to "report a murder" and that it happened "with a knife" on Gardipe’s bed. She later clarified the alleged weapon was a steak knife.

Gardipe reportedly asked dispatch to send an ambulance because "she was hearing noises still from one of her children."

She allegedly said she was "supposed to die today."

Gardipe was reportedly still on the phone with dispatch when deputies arrived at her residence. She went back into her home and locked the door. Dispatch reportedly told her law enforcement "was there to help her."

Gardipe reportedly responded, "No, they are not, not for what I did."

Missoula County deputies eventually reached Gardipe and secured her.

According to court documents, her children were discovered "lying on their backs and were tucked into the bedsheets" in a bedroom. They reportedly suffered "significant lacerations on their throats" and had defensive wounds on their hands and fingers. The two children were pronounced dead following a medical examination.

Deputies obtained a search warrant and looked through Gardipe’s residence. They allegedly found a note in the bedroom the children were found in that said, "It was the only way that we wouldn’t burn, now I’m the only one of us that will."

Investigators reportedly found a steak knife under a bed and a pool of blood in the little girl’s bedroom.

The Missoulian reports Justice of the Peace Alex Beal ordered Gardipe to have a mental health exam. According to Montana Right Now, the children’s father, Travis Sandberg, had spoken about concerns over Gardipe’s mental health in the past.

In December 2020, Gardipe reportedly went to the emergency room following a mental health episode in Kalispell, Montana Right Now reports. She reportedly said it was a "false report," but the children were placed with their father. She later got custody of her kids with Sandberg having visitation two weekends a month and every Wednesday.

NBC Montana reports her arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 6.

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