DURHAM, NC (WNCN) — WNCN is taking a deeper look at the internal struggle a man was facing when police say he tried to drown his own children.
Allan Lassiter, 29, is in a Durham jail facing three counts of attempted murder after the incident on Sunday evening.
“All I wanted was help, Ever since I try to go get help my problems got a 100 times worse!” said Lassiter in a frantic 911 call, moments after police say he threw his children into a pond near Shearwater Drive in Durham.
Previous story: Raleigh dad calls 911 after trying to drown kids, sought help for ‘sexual desires’
Also in the call, Lassiter repeatedly says how he tried to seek help for issues he was battling, specifically sexual feelings he felt towards his daughters.
“I’ve never seen him do anything wrong towards his kids. He treated them with the utmost respect,” said Bobby Lassiter, the brother of Allan Lassiter.
“He was the best father, and showed them the best fatherhood that he possibly could,” he said.
Bobby Lassiter also stated that he wasn’t aware of Allan’s sexual feelings towards his daughters, but was aware of the marital issues he was having with his wife, and that he had sought out help for mental issues in the past.
In Allan Lassiter’s 911 call, he blames child protection services for not helping him with his mental issues, but only attempting to take his kids away. Bobby says he wishes his family would have known of Allan’s mental condition that he was seeking help for.
With the amount of pressure in Allan Lassiter’s life, with mental issues, marital trouble, and lack of help from child protective services, Bobby Lassiter believes that amount of pressure just made his brother snap. “Mental issues and telling someone that you’re going to take kids from someone they love, it just doesn’t mix” Bobby said.
Two of Allan Lassiter’s children are currently recovering at Duke Hospital. The third, who managed to escape, is now staying with other family members.
Lassiter is being held at the Durham County Jail, under a $2,250,000 bond.
