Connecticut mother charged with murdering her children says they were sent to heaven

EAST HAVEN, CT -- A woman charged Wednesday with murder in the deaths of her two children allegedly said in a note found near their bodies that she was sending them to heaven, according to court documents.

LeRoya Moore was arrested when she was discharged from a hospital where she had been treated for arm injuries that appeared to be self-inflicted on the day the children were found dead in their East Haven home, police said. The house was filled with natural gas but the cause of death has not been announced yet.

The note attributed to Moore said the children had ice cream and ate their favorite things before they died.

"I'm sure there's an expert somewhere that will say the children suffered, but I let them know they were very much loved and they were going to heaven," the letter said.

Moore, 36, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on two counts of murder and three counts of reckless endangerment. She was represented by the public defender's office, which had no immediate comment. Her bail was set at $2 million.

Police officers found the bodies of 7-year-old Daaron Moore and 6-year-old Aleisha Moore in their home on June 2 after a friend of Moore's called 911 from outside the house. Moore was found with arm injuries that appeared to be the result of a suicide attempt, police said.

"What could one human being say about her, really?" police Chief Brent Larrabee said Wednesday. "It's so tragic."

Police believe the children had been dead for more than 24 hours when their bodies were found. The medical examiner's office performed autopsies and is awaiting results of toxicology tests before ruling on the causes of their deaths.

The note said the children had been in pain and she knew they were meant to die.

"I'm numb and if I burn for eternity I'll know why I deserve it...I couldn't leave any more of my kids to the system," it said.

Larrabee said the children showed no signs of blunt trauma.

The house was filled with natural gas when officers responded and three of them were hospitalized as a precaution for exposure to the fumes, but they weren't seriously hurt. Police believe someone intentionally turned the gas on.

The 911 caller told police that Moore had sent her a letter threatening suicide.

Hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil for the children last week at the East Haven Green. Moore's ex-husband, Michael Moore of Bridgeport, said he was struggling to comprehend the deaths of his two children.

Another criminal case is pending against LeRoya Moore in which she is accused of assaulting Michael Moore last year in New Haven. She also was convicted of child abuse, and state officials removed two other children from her custody in 2006. Police said she repeatedly beat her 4-year-old daughter with a mop handle.

LeRoya Moore was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to risk of injury to a minor.