Sudden Death Of N.J. Twins Remains Under Investigation

LINDENWOLD, NJ — Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of twin 7-month-old girls who were found unresponsive by their mother Wednesday morning.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Camden County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Alexandra McVeigh said Thursday morning. “The autopsy results will not be available until all forensic tests have been completed.”

No timeline was available as to when testing might be complete.

Police were dispatched to the 5100 building of the Pines Apartment Complex on Bilper Avenue around 8 a.m.Wednesday morning in response to a 911 call.

The girls were pronounced dead by Dr. Adrienne Rigueur of Virtua Hospital via telemetry at about 8:30 a.m.

The parents have not been identified, and the cause of death is not known.

In the 911 call, posted below, the dispatcher explains to the frantic mother how to administer CPR to the babies. She follows his instructions but cries into the phone that they aren’t responding. About five minutes into the call, police arrive, and the call ends shortly after that.

In the call, the mother explains that the babies were sleeping on their stomachs. She describes the children as being purple.

South Jersey Pediatrician Dr. Jay Mirmanesh told Patch on Thursday morning that while it is preferred to always lay a child on their back to go to sleep, by 7 months old, children are already beginning to roll. It is possible that they rolled onto their stomachs while sleeping, the doctor explained.

“When they roll, you can’t do anything about it,” Mirmanesh said.

He said to make sure there are no pillows or blankets, or anything else soft that can obstruct the child’s airway.

Mirmanesh also called the possibility that they both died of SIDS, a condition that can cause the sudden death of sleeping infants, “very unlikely.”

“You can have SIDS after six months, but it is very seldom,” Mirmanesh said. “You would need to know more about the medical conditions of the children and see what the autopsy results say.”

The sudden death of the twins has rocked the quiet apartment complex in which they lived.

One neighbor told NJ 101.5 that the mother was “always happy” and said she “must be beyond grief right now.”

The Courier-Post described the father as “so excited to be a father.” The story also said the children were in respiratory arrest when police arrived.

The neighbor described the apartment complex as quiet, but a lot of neighbors don't know each other, and people are constantly moving in and out.

Video and photo from YouTube