Man accused of trying to drown wife, 2 kids in bathtub

36-year-old Leslie Kelly was arrested by West Virginia police for allegedly attempting to drown his wife and two children

Police in West Virginia say a man who claimed he was trying to baptize his wife and children in a bathtub has been charged with trying to drown them.

36-year-old Leslie Kelly of Chapmanville was charged with attempted murder, domestic battery and child abuse creating the risk of serious injury.

The Logan County Sheriff’s Office says that deputies found Kelly’s wife outside the home soaking wet. She says Kelly held her and the children under water.

Kelly’s wife told deputies he grabbed her first and tried to baptize her. He then held her back as he tried to baptize the kids according to KOMO news. 

Deputy Barry Mynes Jr. says Kelly repeatedly said he was trying to baptize his family and that God told him to do it.

Kelly of Chapmanville was charged with attempted murder, domestic battery and child abuse creating the risk of serious injury for allegedly trying to kill his wife and kid

Kelly of Chapmanville was charged with attempted murder, domestic battery and child abuse creating the risk of serious injury for allegedly trying to kill his wife and kid

Kelly at the home and charged him with three counts each of attempted murder and domestic battery as well as two counts of child abuse

Kelly at the home and charged him with three counts each of attempted murder and domestic battery as well as two counts of child abuse

He said, ‘God told me to do this.’ God’s not going to tell somebody to drown their own kids,’ said Deputy Barry Mynes Jr. of the Logan County Sheriff’s Department. 

He said, ‘I held them under water because I want them to go to Heaven and to me, that gave me the impression that he was just wanting to hold them under until they would go to heaven,’ Mynes says.

Deputies entered the residence and when they found Kelly they said he told them, ‘I’m ready for it. I know what I have done.’

Kelly told the officers that the children were kicking and screaming and crying for him to stop.

Kelly told deputies ‘he knew what he had done’ and said he had drug his wife and children into the bathroom, held them under the water in the bathtub and tried to ‘baptize’ them

There was evidence of a struggle was visible throughout the home with puddles of water and clothing leading from the bathroom into the living room. 

Deputies arrested Kelly at the home and charged him with three counts each of attempted murder and domestic battery as well as two counts of child abuse, media reports say.

Kelly is being held in the Southwestern Regional Jail on $100,000 bond. Jail records didn’t indicate whether he has an attorney.

Investigators say there was evidence of a struggle throughout the home with "puddles of water and clothing leading from the bathroom into the living room"

Investigators say there was evidence of a struggle throughout the home with ‘puddles of water and clothing leading from the bathroom into the living room’

Kelly told the officers that while he was trying to 'baptize' them the children were kicking and screaming

Kelly told the officers that while he was trying to ‘baptize’ them the children were kicking and screaming



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk