Five-year-old twins — a boy and a girl — were found dead on the floor of their Bronx apartment Monday morning, cops and law enforcement sources said.
It wasn’t immediately known how the siblings, who did not have visible signs of trauma, died.
Their distraught mother told cops she put the children down so she could take a shower — and returned to find their bodies cold to the touch and stiff on the living room floor of their apartment on East 175th Street near Weeks Avenue in Claremont Village, the sources said.
The twins’ bodies were found cold and stiff on the living room floor, sources said. Peter Gerber
The twins’ mother had to be hospitalized due to severe distress. Matthew McDermottShe was in such severe distress that she needed to be hospitalized at BronxCare Health System for observation, the sources said.
The twins’ dad, meanwhile – who was at work at the time – rushed home after learning what had happened, according to the sources.
The grim discovery was made around 11:20 a.m., police said, adding that responding EMS workers pronounced the kids dead at the scene.
The twins were pronounced dead at the scene by responding EMS workers. Peter Gerber
Both children had been sent home sick from school last week. Matthew McDermott“At this time, we do not know if there is any foul play, being that the investigation is very fresh,” NYPD Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley, commanding officer of the Patrol Borough Bronx, told reporters Monday afternoon.
“We have the Medical Examiner and Crime Scene Unit upstairs waiting to process the crime scene as we get a search warrant.”
Both children had not been feeling well for a few days and were sent home from school last week. They stayed home sick on Monday, according to Gurley and sources.
There were no apparent signs of trauma on the deceased children, cops said. Peter Gerber
The FDNY inspected air quality of the building as a potential cause of death. Peter GerberThe family does not have a domestic violence history with the NYPD or an open record with the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, Gurley said.
The FDNY inspected the air quality in the building and ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning as a factor in the kids’ deaths, according to the police official.
The city medical examiner’s office will make an official ruling on the cause of death, the NYPD said.
