Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

Just saw a blurb on the news, and found this article.

PLAINFIELD — A pair of 3-month-old twins are expected to survive after being left alone in a city home next to the decomposing body of their dead mother for days, authorities said Thursday.

Alice M. Jackson, 39, of the 200 block of East Ninth Street likely died of natural causes, according to police, and her infant daughters remained hospitalized in stable condition late Thursday.

It was sometime around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday when Jackson’s estranged husband tried to drop off two older siblings of the twin baby girls at her apartment, police officials said Thursday. One of the two older siblings had a key, but the door’s chain was locked from the inside, Plainfield Police Capt. Ed Santiago explained.

The family members flagged down a passing police car and requested a welfare check, Santiago said, and the estranged husband indicated that he had not seen or spoken to Jackson in several days. It was at that point when an officer entered the apartment and found Jackson’s body on her bed.

“The babies were in a crib, crying,” Santiago said. “The mother was maybe three or four feet away from the crib.”

There were no obvious signs of foul play at the scene, and Jackson’s death initially was not deemed suspicious, Santiago said. City Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig described the twin girls as “severely dehydrated” and suffering from clear signs of neglect from being left alone for a matter of several days.

The infants were rushed by a Plainfield Rescue Squad crew to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment. An autopsy on Jackson was scheduled for Thursday, but Santiago said preliminary results would not be available until Friday at the earliest.

“It’s a real tragedy,” Hellwig said.

The future of the twin girls remained unclear Thursday. Santiago said a grandparent of the pair lives in nearby Richmond Towers, a city senior residence.

“I can’t address how things are going to happen from here,” he said. “Hopefully a family member will take them and they can stay together.”

“It was the second time in barely two weeks that such a situation arose in Union County. A 4-year-old Union Township boy spent nearly a week alone in an apartment with his mother’s decomposing body before police found him on March 26, according to news reports.

The emaciated boy reportedly was taken to University Hospital in Newark with dehydration and malnutrition, but police expected him to make a full physical recovery. His mother also was believed to have died of natural causes.


source is mycentraljersey.com



so sad... thank god those babies are alive!

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

Omg that's terrible

Thank god those babies are ok! That poor mother though

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

This is so sad.

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

oh my goodness. Thankfully the babies are OK.

And 1st thing I thought of was the little boy they mentioned in this story.

So scary.

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

ugh...my god. I fell down the stairs once while home alone with my son and it really made me think about what could happen if I ever was severely hurt or dead while caring for my child. It's a scary thing to even think about. So sad for those babies...only 3 months! And the mother only 39! what a shame. I hope they can keep te babies together.

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

how sad!

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

That's terrible!!!

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

It's sad that it happened again.

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

omg how terrifying- so glad those babies are ok but that poor mom, only 39

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

OMG...this is the second incident like this that has happened in NJ in the last couple of weeks. Just recently a woman died in Union, NJ and her 4 year old son was left for days with her body. So heartbreaking.

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

So scary & So sad.

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

so glad the twins are ok

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

This is so sad. I hope those babies get to stay together. Heartbreaking!

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

OMG! How horrible!!

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

How sad and scary! I'm glad this story didn't have an even worse outcome!

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

OMG so sad!

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

The saddest thing obv besides the babies being starved etc. is that this woman lead a life where days could pass without contact and it's the norm. I think by the 12 hour mark I would have like five different people at my door. I usually consider them overbearing and annoyingly but this story makes me appreciate it.

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

omg that is so sad...so glad the estranged husband had to go there otherwise the outcome could of been so much worse

Re: Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

Jeez!!

Mother found dead, twin babies left alone in cribs for days

So sad - I can't imagine going that long without someone trying to contact me though. I'm glad the babies were okay!