Palm Bay vigil remembers three slain children

Hundreds turned out for a special memorial service to pray and pay tribute to three children Palm Bay police say were killed by their mother.

The hastily arranged memorial service was held at Palm Bay Christian Center, just a few miles away from where the slayings took place. It was at times quiet and reflective; at other moments, it was openly heartbreaking for the friends, neighbors, police and others who attended as the images of three children flashed on a display in the sanctuary.

On Monday, Palm Bay police detailed how they believe Jessica Lacey McCarty strangled her 5-month-old infant son and his 6-year-old brother. She also drowned and strangled her 7-year-old daughter before calling police to report what she had done, police said.

The oldest two died Friday. The infant, who was on life support, died late Sunday.

"It's difficult to understand why these things happen," Palm Bay Police Chief Mark Renkens said Monday afternoon.

"The thought of children struggling for their lives is gut-wrenching," the father of two said.

A grand jury will hear more details about the slaying April 8, including possibly the contents of a three-page letter found tucked in a car in the driveway of the home where the slayings took place Friday evening.

McCarty is under special observation at the county jail, where she is being held without bond. Police charged McCarty with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder Saturday, nearly a day after Palm Bay Police were called to McCarty's home on Kenmore Street to investigate reports of children being stabbed. The attempted murder charge will likely be upgraded to murder now that 5-month-old Christopher Swist has died.

Autopsies on the two older children were conducted Sunday by the medical examiner's office in Rockledge. An autopsy on the infant will be conducted this week.

Police are going through McCarty's background to find a possible motive and are reviewing everything from her history with drug abuse to recent troubles she had with her boyfriend,who was the father of McCarty's youngest child, Renkens said.

"Indications are that there were some issues with their relationship," he said, without elaborating.

"We do have leads. My understanding is that she made some utterances. But there's nothing at this point that would have led us to believe she would have done what she did," he said.

Additional charges could be filed soon in the case.

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Crime scene

Palm Bay police, in an arrest warrant, also described a scene inside the home where they say Jessica Lacey McCarty fatally attacked her children. Arrest records filed also show that the 33-year-old mother sent graphic photos of blood in the house to the father of one of her children and also left behind a note written, "To my family," saying that she was "sorry for what she had to do."

McCarty, who apparently slashed herself with a knife, also left a special message for the father of her 5-month-old child, asking him to "keep Christopher's name alive," police report.

Initial reports indicated that the children might have been stabbed. But investigators said Monday that while the children had lacerations, there were no indications that they had been stabbed.

Hours after being checked out of Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, McCarty waived her right to a court appearance on Sunday at the Brevard County Jail Complex, jail officials said. Brevard County Judge Judy Atkins ordered McCarty to remain in custody after a public defender briefly discussed setting up a bond hearing at a future date.

The homicides left police and neighbors stunned. Family members of the children are also devastated, police report. A Facebook page attributed to the father of the infant, Christopher Swist, has a number of condolences posted on his wall along with photographs and other tributes.

Nearly 600 people turned out for a memorial at Palm Bay Christian Church, 344 Emerson Drive, on Monday night. Before the services, Christopher Swist, the father of the 5-month-old, was surrounded by friends and hugged. Police Chief Mark Renkens also arrived with a bouquet of flowers for the makeshift memorial of candles at a gate in front of the church.

There, the standing room-only crowd of family members, friends, first responders and others listened as scriptures were read and messages of hope, love and community were given.

"Our hearts are heavy and many times we don't know how to pray and we just got to cry," said Pastor Randy Nash.

Some in the audience wiped away tears as they listened to the prayers and watched as images of three siblings flashed on a big screen in front of the sanctuary. There were pictures that captured the normalcy of childhood, from a Lacey lying on the floor to Phillip standing alone on a river bank watching the sun dip over the horizon. Both fathers of the slain children were in the audience.

After the prayers, Nash urged the mourners to gather together toward the center of the sanctuary and to hold up glowsticks as a tribute to the three children. One child held two of the glowsticks together to form a makeshift cross.

"The very fabric of our country is falling apart … because our families are falling apart," Nash said before urging those gathered to hug their loved ones and to make an effort to keep the community going.

As the services ended, Christopher Swist gave a hug and choked back tears. He looked upward, took a breath and regained his composure before greeting other well-wishers.

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The call

The incident unfolded at about 6 p.m. Friday when 9-1-1 dispatchers received a call from a woman identifying herself as McCarty, calmly saying that her three children were dead in the home and that she had slit her wrist and had a firearm.

McCarty said she needed help but then hung up after telling dispatchers that she wanted to talk with her mother, reports show.

Police also determined that McCarty sent photos of blood throughout the house to the father of the infant, prompting him to also call police for help. Police arrived minutes later and found the mother standing in the front yard, clutching a butcher knife. Police say much of the blood in the home likely belonged to McCarty.

The father, Christopher Swist, had gone in the home and found his unresponsive baby son in a bedroom, lying on a bed with a cord wrapped around his neck.

A police officer found another child, Phillip McCarty, 6, unresponsive in a corner and wounded. He appeared to have been choked, police report.

The officer attempted to resuscitate Phillip, who later died en route to Florida Hospital via helicopter, records show.

The third child, Lacey McCarty, 7, was found unresponsive and wounded on a bed, police report. She was rushed to Palm Bay Hospital and pronounced dead.

The infant, named after his father, remained on life support at Florida Hospital throughout the weekend.

Detectives combed through the home over the weekend and found blood throughout the living room, kitchen, bedroom and hallways.

There was also blood on the carpet of the baby's room, police report.

The bath tub was full of water and the shower enclosure appeared to have been ripped from the wall with shattered glass strewn on the floor. Officers also found two butcher knives, one near the front door and another – with blood on the handle – in the garage.

Past investigation

Officials also confirmed that the Department of Children and Families had been in contact with McCarty in 2009 after a complaint involving "inadequate supervision," said Kristi Gray, a spokeswoman for the social services agency.

"It's been six years since we've last had contact with the mother," she said, adding that the agency is reviewing its notes and reports on that case.

No other details were released about the case, except that there were questions about whether McCarty was providing proper supervision of the children.

Drug history

Records show that McCarty had a criminal past involving drugs.

According to a 2013 arrest report, McCarty was working in the offices of Dr. Robert Dunne in Palm Bay when she stole four brand new prescription pads.

Records indicate that between January 17 and March 29 of that year, she filled 16 prescriptions at various pharmacies throughout Brevard County for hydromorphone and oxycodone, fraudulently obtaining several hundred pills.

A prescription for 90 painkillers at the Malabar Discount Pharmacy drew suspicion from the pharmacist who alerted the doctor. He called police when he noticed the prescription pads were missing.

McCarty confessed to stealing the prescription pads for the purpose of getting painkillers.

According to court records and the State Attorney's Office, she opted for early resolution and within two months of the arrest she plead guilty. She was sentenced to two years of community control and drug court as well as three years of drug-offender probation, which includes numerous drug tests. She failed a drug test almost immediately and was sent to the county jail for a week.

When she failed another after being released, she was sentenced to six months in the county jail and was kicked out of the drug court program.

Family friend Chrissy Thompson on Monday night was praying for the family and for the community to heal. The services held Monday night went a long way in doing that, she said.

"It was beautiful," said Thompson, one of the organizers of the memorial. "It just breaks your heart."

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com or on Twitter at @JDGallop