A quiet Durham neighborhood is grappling with shock and grief after a North Carolina mother was charged with murdering one of her young sons and attempting to kill another.

Andrea Faust, 41, was arrested on Feb. 12 after police were dispatched to her home around 5:30 p.m. and found her two children unresponsive, according to local outlets WTVD, WNCN, and WRAL. Both boys were under the age of five.

Emergency responders transported the children to a local hospital. One child later died. The second child survived and is expected to make a full recovery, according to statements made in court by the children’s father, Eric Faust.

Investigators have not publicly disclosed specific details about how the homicide occurred.

Andrea Faust has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. A Durham County judge denied her bond and ordered that she receive mental health services while in custody. She is scheduled to appear in court again on March 3.

The case took an emotional turn during her first court appearance.

Originally set to appear in person on Feb. 16, Andrea instead addressed the court virtually from a hospital bed after, according to her husband, she attempted to harm herself following the incident.

During the hearing, Eric Faust made a public plea directed at his wife.

“Andrea, I’m begging you, please no more attempts to harm yourself,” he said, according to local reporting. “Work with your doctors. Work with anything you can. And I promise you, if you do that, I will let you know how [the surviving child] is doing as often as I can.”

Eric characterized the tragedy as the result of a severe mental health breakdown.

“I just want to let the court know this was a complete mental health crisis,” he said. “Anyone will tell you what a tremendous mother Andrea was. These were not the actions of my wife.”

He also urged viewers to take stock of their own mental health and the well-being of their families.

“Anybody watching this news, just take a moment to assess where you are mentally, where your family is mentally. Mental health is a very important thing. Please, just make sure everyone’s OK,” he said.

Neighbors echoed their disbelief.

Speaking with WTVD, one neighbor described Andrea as loving and attentive, even while acknowledging that she appeared to be under increased stress.

“I knew she was under more stress than normal, but she was an awesome [mother], very nice, caring,” the neighbor said. “Loved her children very much. So this is a great shock.”

“It is just very unbelievable,” she added.

Cases involving allegations of parental violence often leave communities struggling to reconcile past perceptions with devastating outcomes. For neighbors, the image of a caring mother now collides with criminal charges that carry the most severe consequences under North Carolina law.

As the legal process unfolds, prosecutors will present evidence to support the charges, while the defense may explore the role mental health played in the events of that February evening.

For now, a family is fractured, one child is gone, another is recovering, and a father stands between grief and public scrutiny — pleading not just for understanding in his wife’s case, but for greater awareness of mental health struggles that can quietly intensify behind closed doors.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available by calling or texting 988 in the United States.