Investigators rule deaths of 2 toddlers homicides

<p>Investigators today ruled the Monday deaths of two toddlers homicides.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 11, 2017, 7:22 PM

Updated 2,487 days ago

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Investigators today ruled the Monday deaths of two toddlers homicides.
A spokeswoman for the city Office of Chief Medical Examiner said that both children died of "blunt impact injuries" to their torsos.
As News 12 has reported, the 3-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl died in the early morning hours after they had difficulty breathing inside their Van Cortlandt Park South home.
"As a parent, it's very painful for me to think about the death of these two children and what the family is going through right now," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.
Police said they responded to a 911 call at the Amalgamated Park Reservoir Houses around 1:15 a.m.
Police said the two children, Olivia and Micha Gee, were unresponsive. They were transported to Montefiore Medical Center where they were later pronounced dead.
The toddlers' mother, identified as Jade Spencer, and her boyfriend, Jordan Novell, were being questioned by police.
Police sources say Spencer has since been admitted to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Police said Tuesday night they had no one in custody, but Novell hired a lawyer, according to sources.
"The mother, from what I know, is a very doting mother," says Charles Zsebedic. "This is going to rock this neighborhood, because stuff like this doesn't happen here."
Neighbors say the children's grandmother, Doris Spencer, is a well-respected community member and the education director of the co-op where they live.


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