- Shamar Elkins, who murdered eight children in Louisiana, was supposed to face his estranged wife in divorce court the day after the killings.
A potential motive might have been uncovered for Shamar Elkins, the man who police say murdered seven of his children and one of their cousins on Sunday, April 19, in Shreveport, Louisiana.
On Monday, April 20, the New York Post reported that Shamar — an army veteran and UPS worker — was supposed to “battle with his estranged wife in divorce court Monday,” just one day after he committed the gruesome acts.
On Easter Sunday, Shamar called his mother, Mahelia Elkins, and stepfather, Marcus Jackson, and told them his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh — whom he tied the knot with in 2024 — wanted to divorce him, confessing he was consumed by “dark thoughts,” and wanted to commit suicide, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
“I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it,” Jackson recalled per The New York Times. “Then I remember him telling me: ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.’
However, Mahelia noted she was unaware of the details of her son’s marital issues.
According to the New York Post, last month, Shamar made a Facebook post which read, “Dads, if you could go back in time and have kids with a different woman but still have the same kids, would you do it?”
Shamar was killed in a police chase after he murdered the eight children: Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5, per The New York Times.
Shamar also shot his wife and a woman named Brittany Snow, believed to be his girlfriend, according to NBC News.
