Illinois Mom Stabbed Son and Girl 150 Times, Police Say

Nov. 1, 2012 — -- The Illinois woman charged with the murder of her 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old girl she was babysitting stabbed them dozens of times in order to get attention from her husband, according to police.

Elzbieta Plackowska, 40, of Naperville, Ill., was denied bail by a Chicago-area court today on two counts of first-degree murder. She was ordered held in DuPage County.

Plackowska, who was babysitting Olivia Dworakowski, was arrested after the 5-year-old and her son Justin Plackowski, 7, were found by police slashed and stabbed "numerous, numerous times" at approximately 10:15 p.m. Tuesday at Dworakowski's family home.

Sgt. Lou Cammisso with the Naperville police department told ABCNews.com that it is believed Justin Plackowski was stabbed approximately 100 times and Olivia Dworakowski was stabbed approximately 50 times. When they were found, both children's throats had been slashed. Autopsies are being conducted today, Cammisso said.

Plackowska was found by authorities covered in blood at the nearby home of a friend, where her 20-year-old son was staying, police said. A bloody knife was found in her car.

"She first said something about being robbed," Cammisso told ABCNews.com. "Then they summoned police, and her story wasn't making sense. We asked about her child, and that's when she gave the address where we found both children."

Plackowska was taken to the hospital for superficial cuts on her hands, Cammisso said. Investigators from the Naperville Police Department and the DuPage County States Attorney's Office questioned her before charges were filed.

"She gave a variety of stories … things like that she was the victim of robbery, the victim of a stalker, that she was possessed, that the kids were possessed. She went through stories that detectives eventually shot down, until ultimately admitting the stories were lies and that she killed children to get attention from her husband," Cammisso said.

Plackowska's husband is a long-haul trucker who is frequently away, Cammisso told ABCNews.com. She is not a U.S. citizen, he said, and she arrived here 12 years ago on a vacation visa. Authorities are still trying to determine her immigrations status.

Cammisso said that Plackowska had called a church and left a voicemail saying she'd "done something very wrong, and needed help" the night the children were murdered. Police believe she then tossed her phone out the window of her car.

Authorities also found two dead dogs in the home that also were stabbed. Investigators said there was no reason to believe that any additional suspects were at large.

Plackowska frequently babysat Olivia, according to Cammisso. He said that she and the girl's mother lived about five miles apart, and they met on a Polish networking site when the girl's mother was looking for a sitter.

Olivia attended kindergarten at Brookdale Elementary School and Justin was a student at Scott Elementary School.

"This is an extremely difficult time, but this is an extremely strong community and I'm confident in this community and our school district that we will pull together and move through this tragic event," said Naperville School district Superintendent Dan Bridges.

Plackowski will appear in court next on Nov. 21, 2012.