Three Florida children endured unspeakable horror at the hands of the person who was supposed to care for them the most. The woman who brought them into this world, brutally took them out, one-by-one, over the course of a chilling afternoon. 

Now, new court documents have been released that include handwritten notes from officers, which reveal what happened surrounding these gruesome murders, including the chilling last words of one of her children.

Jessica McCarty, 33, of Palm Bay, Florida, viciously murdered her three children. According to police reports, McCarty drowned her oldest daughter Lacey McCarty, 7-years-old, and strangled her sons – Phillip McCarty, 6-years-old, and her infant son Christopher Swist, 5 months old –before attempting to end her life.

She called officers to her home to report she had killed the kids, before describing she had cut herself and was seconds from dying.

Police responded in force to find the mother still alive and in her front yard with a massive knife. She refused their directives to drop the weapon and cops shot several non-lethal beanbag rounds at her. 

In notes taken from the crime scene by Palm Bay Detective Lewis Jones, he paints a very disturbing picture upon arriving at the house of horror. He describes walking into the family’s home, noticing that the movie Marley and Me was playing on the television and blood was splattered throughout the home.

According to the detectives notes, McCarty said, “I just wanna die. I hope something bad happens and I just die here, just give me the death penalty, right here, right now. I wanted to stab myself very badly. I’ve wanted to kill myself for a long time.” McCarty is also said to have stated, “I wish I’d finished the job,” according to the handwritten notes by officers.

Notes taken at the horrific murder scene show that McCarty wanted to die

In what is probably the most incomprehensible part of the report, McCarty recalled her daughter’s last words.

“She kept telling me, ‘I love you mommy.'”

According to KFOR, investigators found a broken shower door in the bathroom, which was evidence that Laci fought hard to keep her mother from drowning her in the bathtub. 

Reportedly, McCarty attempted suicide before, and just weeks prior to these murders, she said she wanted to kill herself. McCarty had told family members, ‘”I will snap my babies’ necks and take them with me when I kill myself.”

Christopher Swist’s Father (left), all three murdered children (center), McCarty (far right)

The only mention of the children’s father(s) was Christopher’s, who was sent photos of the bloody scene by McCarty. He rushed to the scene to see responders administering emergency care on his son in the yard, before the baby was taken to the hospital. Christopher died from his injuries two days later.

Reports note that McCarty had recently had a breakup with Christopher’s father. A journal recovered from the driveway, addressed “To my Family,” noted her reasoning for doing what she did.  In it, she wrote, “I’m so sorry for what I had to do. I had no other choice,” the note said in part along with a special shout out to Christopher’s father. “You were a good dad to Christopher. Please, keep his beautiful memory alive.”

The following day after her arrest, she acted confused, telling authorities “I just don’t know how it happened. And I don’t believe that I don’t have my kids anymore.”

Sadly, these murders could have easily been prevented, considering all the signs of her mental instability prior to her deranged acts that took the lives of her children. The family members were aware of her threats, as well as the Department of Children and Families, who reported in 2009 that McCarty was an “intermediate” risk because of her suicidal tendencies. There is no logical reason these children should have been left alone with this woman.