A North Carolina mother has been charged with attempted first-degree murder for allegedly driving her vehicle into a lake – with her 6-year-old son strapped inside the vehicle.
According to authorities, 41-year-old Leonora Cillay drove her car off a boat ramp on May 14. She and her son, Ben, were rescued by a family who were boating in the area.
In an incident report by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, authorities write that beer cans and vodka bottles were found floating around the vehicle as it sank. Authorities say that they recovered credit cards, social security cards, passports and other vital documents.
Also found in the vehicle, according to the report: documents from a mental clinic saying that the London-born Cillay had a history of mental illness, and saying that she coped by "deliberate self-harm."
The incident report alleges that Cillay was worried about terrorists targeting the boy. She told rangers "that an organization was after her son and this was her best option to save him," the report says.
After the incident, Cillay allegedly told officers that they could find all the information they needed in an online blog post that she had written earlier in which Cillay expresses concern about shielding her son from terrorist attacks, the Ebola virus, and contaminated water.
According to an eyewitness, a suicide note was found in a nearby bathroom. "I know who I am now," it reportedly reads. "I know what they plan to do with my son. I cannot let that happen. This is the best I can do for my son. I will always love him."
Cillay was arrested and charged with attempted murder. She is being held at the Chatham County Women's Prison on $1 million bond. It is unclear whether she has hired an attorney; the public defender's office said that they are not currently representing her.
Her next court appearance is on June 6.
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