SEYMOUR (NBC 26) -- It was a crime that shocked a small northeast Wisconsin community and destroyed the mother of two young girls who were violently killed in their home in a double murder-suicide.
In the early morning of April 19th, a father stabbed his own baby girl and his fiance's daughter, 4-year-old Mattelin and 3-month-old Hailey.
For the first time, Kate Samson, the mother of the two girls, talks about what happened that night.
"Mattie was the type of girl who marched to the beat of her own drum. She was always happy, always smiling," Kate Samson said.
As Kate spoke with NBC 26, she stood in the center of a bright room, painted purple, which was dedicated to her two girls.
The room is full of paintings, photos and some of the girl's personal belongings, like Mattie's favorite footie-pajamas, Hailey's blankets, and a lock of the girl's hair set into Christmas ornaments.
Just six months ago, her fiance, 35-year-old Andrew Poppe, killed Mattelin and Hailey, and then killed himself. This is according to an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
"You kill your own flesh and blood. It's just something I can't fathom," Kate says.
Kate also says the Seymour Police Department mishandled her report of sexual violence and death threats.
"He would hold me down on the bed and strangle me a lot and like I said his threat of choice would always would be you know um, 'If you ever say anything or if anybody else says anything… your kids are going to grow up without a mother,'" says Kate.
Poppe is Hailey's biological father. Kate has three other children from her previous marriage to Matt Samson who died from lung cancer in 2013.
"It was great, it seemed liked he was a really nice person, it seemed like he was a family man," Kate says of the early stages of her relationship with Andrew Poppe. "We decided to add to the family, he proposed about 6 months after we were together," she adds.
But after Hailey was born, she says Andrew's personality flipped like a switch.
"He was becoming physically abusive, episodes of abuse were closer together. Um, I was scared. I was really scared," she says.
NBC26 obtained Poppe's criminal record. He has two previous domestic violence cases against him in 2010 and 2015. Both from previous relationships. Kate says Andrew was open with her about the charges from his past.
"Being completely ignorant to domestic violence and how they are, I thought it was big of him to come to me and I had said, "If you ever, ever hit me, or did anything, it would be over.' I would never tolerate that but when you're in that situation, it's never that easy," Kate says.
On the night of April 18th, she says Andrew violently attacked, raped and strangled her. When her oldest son called for a ride home, Kate saw her chance to get away and get help.
"A lot of people said that I had deserted my children. He never threatened the children. He never did anything to the children. Had I thought my children were in danger I never would have left."
As soon as she left the house, Kate says she called the police and told them to get Poppe out of her house before he gets violent again.
According to a 228-page report by the Wisconsin Department of Justice obtained by NBC26, at 12:43 am officers repeatedly knocked on the door. When he didn't answer, they tried calling him several times but Poppe did not respond.
The DOJ report also states Kate told police Andrew had "never mistreated the children and Andrew was never verbally abusive towards them." According to page 110 of the report, the Outagamie County Emergency Response Team was
contacted to make entry into the home around 1:55 am. It states officers were concerned forcible entry to the home would upset Poppe causing him to "act on threats to harm the children."
By 4:00 am police had not yet made any attempt to go inside the house.
"I must have said thousands of times like, why aren't you getting my children, why are you leaving my children in there. Why are you doing this?" Kate says.
Records show at 8:06 am, more than eight hours after calling the police, officers entered her home. But it was too late.
When Kate learned that both of her children were dead, she says she collapses, sobbing and begging police to let her see her children.
"I asked if I could hold my children, and they said no. I said, 'I just want to see them' and they said I couldn't." Kate says she understands the officers were trying to protect her. Her grief took over.
"I just remember telling the chief like why didn't you go in sooner and then I just collapsed. I cried. It was just. It was just awful," she says.
According to the un-redacted documents given to Kate after the investigation was closed, Mattie and Hailey both died between the hours of 3:30 and 4:30 am.
"That's insane what they did. There was ample time to intervene. It's sickening," she says.
The Seymour Police Department declined an interview about the case but released this statement regarding the NBC26 report:
"The Seymour Police Department takes domestic violence extremely seriously. We strive to treat the victims of domestic violence with the respect and compassion they deserve. We are currently working with due diligence with our law enforcement partners to prepare a response to this broadcast."
Kate says the Seymour Police Department made critical errors int the handing of her case and hopes sharing her story will educate police and the public about the realities of domestic violence.
"A lot of people would say, you know, about why wouldn't you leave, like it was that easy. I tried to leave and he murdered my children," Kate says.
