Twin 5-year-olds were foaming at the mouth and nose when they were mysteriously found dead inside a Bronx apartment on Monday, days after they had been sent home from school sick with intense and strange symptoms, authorities said.
Toxicology reports were still pending for the two children — a boy and a girl — who 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 and said neither child was breathing.
EMS pronounced the children dead at 11:30 a.m. Rigor mortis had already set in by that time, according to a police official.
More details on the circumstances of their deaths were released Tuesday, though the cause and manner of their deaths still was not clear.
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Investigators said the kids had been sick for several days and were sent home from school last week; the pair again stayed home from school on Monday. It was not clear what illness the children had, but the boy had been sick for a week or two with cold symptoms, including vomiting and discharging green mucus. The girl had been vomiting, dealing with an ear infection and acting irrationally, according to police.
What exactly they were sick with was not clear. Both children were found foaming at the mouth and nose, police said. That came after reports of the children acting strangely and irrationally at school, including biting and spitting. The boy had already been diagnosed with special needs, while his sister was in the process of being diagnosed.
The NYPD said there were no signs of foul play, strangulation or injuries to their bodies, and there was 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, while police said there with no signs of narcotics or other drug paraphernalia inside the home.
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No evidence of any sort of criminal activity was found inside the home. In fact, police noted the apartment was well-heated and with plenty of necessities for the children.
The mother said she last saw them alive around 5 a.m. The father, a healthcare professional, had urged the mother to take the children to the emergency room before their deaths, sources said.
The father, who was not home at the time the children were found, was questioned by police Monday afternoon after rushing home from work as a home health care attendant in Port Chester. Their mother, meanwhile, had been admitted to the hospital for shock and emotional trauma.
News of the tragic deaths, just one week before Christmas, stunned neighbors, who described the mother as caring and attentive.
"Every time they see you, they would hug you," neighbor Jenny Rodriguez said. "It's so heartbreaking."
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."
The family immigrated from Ghana. The children were not tested for COVID-19.
A law enforcement official said the deaths appeared to be a medical tragedy, pending the autopsy results. The mother was actively involved in the children's regular medical care and schooling.
