Deaths of 5-year-old twins in Bronx apartment remain a mystery

Two days after the 5-year-old twins were found lifeless and foaming at the mouth by their mother in their Bronx apartment, authorities still don’t know how they died.

The boy and girl were found dead Monday morning in a bed they shared with their mother in the family’s sixth-floor apartment in the Mount Hope neighborhood, police officials said.

Police said there were no visible signs of trauma to their bodies, and officers who responded to the apartment found no weapons or narcotics that would indicate foul play.

Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office, said the children’s bodies were examined Tuesday, but the cause and manner of death require further investigation.

The twins, both of whom have special needs, had been ill in recent weeks, said Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for the New York Police Department. The boy was vomiting at school on November 30 and was sent home. Then, on December 12, he developed a runny nose and other cold symptoms and was sent home again.

The mother, who has not been named by police, also told officers that her daughter had recently had an ear infection, had been vomiting and had been biting and spitting at school, Chief Kenny said.

The mother did not take her children to a doctor, Chief Kenny added.

To friends and neighbors, there were no signs that anything was wrong in the family home. They told police that the mother was affectionate: the twins were well dressed and well fed, went to school, had toys and played in the building.

No cases of child abuse or domestic violence have been reported, Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley, the Bronx Patrol District commander, said at a news conference Monday.

The last time the mother said she saw the children alive was around 5 a.m. Monday at their apartment on East 175th Street near Monroe Avenue, Chief Kenny said. She woke up around 11:20 a.m. to find her stiff and cold.

The mother said she immediately called 911 and began CPR. Emergency workers continued life-saving measures in the apartment, but the children were pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m.

Shortly afterwards, the mother was taken to a local hospital for examination. “She is emotionally distraught,” Chief Gurley told reporters on Monday. The father, a health care assistant who had been working overnight and was not home, spoke with officers from the 46th Precinct.

Candi McDonald, 38, who lives next door to the family, said the mother’s screams woke her up. Startled, she walked out of her apartment and saw that the neighbors had gathered in the hallway. They were comforting the mother, who was sobbing on the stairs.

Mrs McDonald asked what had happened. A moment later she understood: she saw officers in the woman’s apartment and the boy lifeless on the floor. “It’s just sad,” she said. “I feel horrible.”

On Monday afternoon, neighbors spoke kindly about the mother and wondered what had gone wrong.

Maira Bonet, 50, who lives nearby, said the mother once gave Ms Bonet’s daughter a tablet for her birthday. Mrs. Bonet thanked her by giving the twins clothes, remote-controlled cars and baby dolls.

When Mrs. Bonet heard on Monday that the children were dead, she screamed.

Dakota Santiago reporting contributed.