Many are in shock after 5-year-old twins were discovered dead in their New York City apartment.
According to a statement obtained by People, the brother and sister were found deceased inside their apartment by their mother on Monday, December 18. Police responded to a 911 call from the mother at 11:20 in the morning.
When first responders arrived, they found the twins “unconscious and unresponsive. […] EMS responded and pronounced the aided children deceased at the scene,” the statement continued.
Upon initial investigation, CBS New York reports that the children revealed no visible signs of trauma. Carbon monoxide was also not detected and the family is not known to have a history of family abuse.
However, it was later learned that the children have been sick. Reports reveal that they were both sent home from school last week. They were also absent from school on Monday.
The mother had been home with the children the whole time, ABC 7 also reports. She was hospitalized after finding her twins deceased for emotional distress.
As People reports, the children’s causes of death will be determined by the medical examiner. The investigation into the tragic deaths is still ongoing.
In a statement by NYPD Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley, given to CBS New York, “at this time, we don’t know if there was any foul play. Even myself going up there and the officers, when you go up and you see two 5-year-olds laying on the floor unresponsive and cold at this time of the year, you can imagine what the family’s going through.
“You can imagine what the mother is going through, the father.” And while the mom is being treated at the hospital, “the father is currently at the 46th Precinct, cooperative,” Gurley added.
“At this point, we are going to treat it as a crime scene because we don’t know if it’s foul play or not. We don’t want to tamper with the scene. The medical examiner will let us know based on their investigation and our crime scene unit whether there was foul play.”
