FL Twins, 5, Found Dead After Mom Jumps Off Bridge: Sheriff

SANFORD, FL — Two 5-year-old twins were found dead in their Seminole County home Friday shortly after their mother jumped to her death from a bridge over the St. Johns River, according to authorities.

At a news conference livestreamed by Fox 35 Orlando, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said deputies were called to the bridge on State Road 417 after someone reported that a woman parked her car, slid out the passenger window and jumped into the river below.

Lemma said authorities recovered the body of 31-year-old Catorreia Hutto with the help of two fishermen, one of whom was a Seminole County firefighter.

Deputies then went to Hutto's home in the 1800 block of Alexander Avenue to conduct a well-being check, where they found Hutto's 5-year-old twins dead in their bunk beds. Lemma said deputies initially thought the children were sleeping, but later confirmed they had died.

Hutto said deputies found little food or furniture in the house, which was built by Habitat for Humanity, and suggested the family may have been struggling financially.

Lemma said Hutto also tried to call her mother before her death, but the call went unanswered.

The causes of death for the twins were not revealed, but Lemma said it appeared to be a homicide. He said the children suffered from a disability; however, there was no history of abuse or neglect.