Missoula woman charged for allegedly killing her children

MISSOULA (AP) — A Montana woman accused of stabbing her two small children was kept behind bars Monday on a $10 million bail by a judge who called her a great risk to the community and also ordered a mental health evaluation.

Leannah J. Gardipe, 34, is charged with two counts of deliberate homicide after police found her 3- and 5-year-old children dead Friday in their Missoula house.

Detectives found a note inside the house that said, "it was the only way that we all wouldn't burn, now I'm the only one of us that will," the Missoulian reported.

Gardipe's mother first reported the crime when she called 911 to tell police her daughter said she had "saved her babies." Gardipe called 911 herself soon after to report a murder and said her mom would be calling too.

Gardipe told dispatchers the incident happened that morning in her bedroom, and that "(she) was supposed to die" that day.

The children were dead on the bed when police arrived Friday night. No one else was in the house beside Gardipe, police said.

Gardipe, who appeared in court Monday, is represented by public defender Ted Fellman, who asked for a significantly lower bond.