Toxicology reports are pending for the twin 5-year-olds mysteriously found dead inside a Bronx apartment on Monday, days after they were sent home from school sick, authorities say.
The two children — a boy and a girl — were discovered around 11 a.m. in a home on East 175th Street between Monroe and Topping avenues in the Morris Heights neighborhood, FDNY and NYPD officials said. Their mother called 911.
Few details on the circumstances of their deaths were available Tuesday.
Investigators said the kids had been sick for several days and had been sent home from school last week; the pair stayed home from school on Monday. What they were sick with and the extent of their symptoms is not yet clear.
The NYPD said there are no signs of foul play or injuries on their bodies, and there is no history of domestic violence from anyone in the home. Members from the FDNY also tested the air and found no signs of carbon monoxide.
News of the tragic deaths, just one week before Christmas, stunned neighbors.
“Every time they see you, they would hug you,” neighbor Jenny Rodriguez said. “It’s so heartbreaking.”
The father, who was not home at the time the children were found, was being questioned by police Monday afternoon after rushing home from work. Their mother, meanwhile, had been admitted to the hospital for shock and emotional trauma.
Pastor Randholf Andujar runs a food pantry on Mondays in the basement of the building where the twins lived. He said he saw them and their mother at the front of the line every week.
“She was really sweet, always taking care of them. They were respectful, the lady was respectful,” said Andujar. “Every time they’d see you, they would hug you…nice kids. It’s just heartbreaking.”
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