Bronx twins were ill in days prior to their deaths: police

THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) -- A small memorial of candles burns outside the Bronx building where twin 5-year-olds, a boy and a girl, both died. Their mother found them dead Monday morning at the family’s apartment, authorities said. They were unresponsive. The mother tried to perform CPR, but it was too late.

“I feel bad. They were nice kids. The mother was nice,” said a neighbor.

Investigators said it’s not clear what caused the twins to die, but carbon monoxide poisoning has been ruled out. And as of Tuesday evening, there was no evidence of criminality and no signs of physical abuse, nor drug paraphernalia, according to police. Neighbors described the parents as doting.

The twins had been sick and vomiting in recent days prior to their deaths, according to police. The boy was sent home from school a week ago with cold symptoms and the girl had an ear infection, authorities said. Their deaths appear to be a "medical tragedy" at this time, police said.

Their father, a health care worker who was at work at the time of the incident, spent hours at the nearby precinct and was allowed to leave after cooperating with police. The mother was so emotionally distressed, she was taken from the building on East 175th Street to a local hospital.

Neighbors said they would often see the mother with her two children.

“I would see them happy, outside playing. The mother would take them to school and pick them up,” said neighbor Rob Brown.

“The girl mostly, when she meets me, she hugs me like a grandfather. And the mother is so kind,” said neighbor Nanna Manaso.

Sources told PIX11 News that the mother checked on the twins on Sunday, fed them, and then they went to sleep. That was the last time she says she saw them alive.

PIX11 News was told there is no history of domestic violence at the home, but investigators with the New York City Administration for Children's Services stopped by the building to talk to neighbors.

A spokesperson for the agency told PIX11 News: “Our top priority is the safety and well-being of all children in New York City. As soon as we learned of this tragedy, ACS began working with law enforcement to investigate.”

“I just hope they find out what really happened,” said a neighbor.

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner is still working on completing the autopsy. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.