Mother charged with attempted murder allegedly told witness one of her children was possessed and needed baptism

Hummelstown, Pennsylvania: The events which led to 32-year-old Candice Gail McElwee being charged with the attempted murder of two of her four children allegedly took place back on September 6, 2022.

Citing the criminal complaint on the case, WHTM says that McElwee told a witness, "I have a problem, one of my children are possessed and I need to manage it. I need to eliminate one child."

During the course of the conversation, McElwee allegedly went on to state that after the child "will be resurrected and all will be good again."

State Police were dispatched to a location on Stone Glen Road in Middle Paxton Township after 3:00 am on September 6 following the witnesses encounter with the woman and her children.

According to the statements provided to investigators, the witness had located her walking along the road with her four children. She claimed that she had run out of gas and wanted to baptise her children.

The witness transported McElwee and her children to a gas station and then back to their van along the side of the road.

By the time officers arrived to the location the woman and her children had already left.

Hours later officers determined that McElwee and her four children, ages 12, 10, 7 and 3, had not been seen for two days and that McElwee was believed to have been using methamphetamine recently as well as experiencing undisclosed health issues.

The two eldest children were eventually located at a the home of a relative, but the youngest two were not found until later in the day in Cumberland County.

McElwee was transported to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and the children were given to the custody of a family member.

In speaking with the children State Police learned that McElwee had allegedly been stating that "the flood was coming" and referring to their father as the "son of the devil."

The children reported being told that they were " the only real Christians" and that McElwee had attempted to baptise them by pushing their head underwater in a creek multiple times before allegedly attempting to bury them under dirt and rocks. She reportedly told the children that they would be dead for three days before going to heaven.

McElwee has previous court records dating back as far as 2010 with the majority of the records pertaining to traffic violations.

She has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault on a victim under the age of 13, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of driving on a suspended or revoked license.

Her next court date is scheduled for November 18 at 9:30 am.

She remains in custody in the Dauphin County Prison.