Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter to get the latest coverage and stay informed of the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC
Two infants were found dead in a Woodside apartment Thursday afternoon, and detectives are now interviewing their 23-year-old mother.
Police made the horrific discovery when responding with FDNY units to a wellness check that arrived at Woodside Houses at 51st St. 31-76 at around 3:10 p.m. on April 22nd.
NYPD Public Service Area 9 officers met with affected family members and knocked on the door of the mother’s fifth floor apartment, according to David Barrere, chief of housing affairs. As they entered, they encountered a nightmarish scene.
Barrere said one of the infants believed to be six weeks old was found lifeless in a crib with trauma to her body. The officers then asked for a second baby in the house, and the mother pointed them to a sink.
“Officials discovered a second child under the sink, wrapped in a blanket, who was also passed out and unresponsive,” Barrere said.
Responding EMS units pronounced both babies dead at the scene. The doctor’s office performs autopsies to determine the cause of death.
The police immediately took the mother into custody for further questioning. Barrere said officers also found a knife at the scene.
According to Barrere, a relative of the mother’s mother called 911 Thursday out of concern for her children. He did not go into detail about what caused such concern.
On the basis of a preliminary investigation, the police found that the mother had no previous convictions. The status of the children’s father is not known at this time.
As the sun set Thursday, investigators stayed on the scene and other NYPDs stayed on the scene looking for more evidence. The mother is still to be charged pending the results of the ongoing investigation.
It is the latest tragedy to hit the Woodside Houses public housing complex. Two people were shot dead in separate shootings in March, including Gudelia Valinas, who was fatally hit by a stray bullet fired during a battle between warring groups.
This story first appeared on amny.com.
Comments are closed.