A mother has been charged with murder after her 13-month-old daughter was found dead in a playpen, having allegedly been abandoned for days alongside her twin
A mother is behind bars without bond after her baby girl was reportedly discovered decomposing in a playpen. The 25-year-old parent allegedly abandoned her 13-month-old twins for days, leaving one dead and the other fighting for survival in a squalid apartment.
Metropolitan Police Department officers rushed to a property in Washington DC, US, on January 18 following urgent reports of an unresponsive child. Inside, they made a harrowing discovery.
Twin toddlers were found together in a playpen. While the little girl, Mazouri Jones, was tragically pronounced dead at the scene, her twin brother was found alive right next to her body.
Investigators later discovered that their mother, Valencia Duke, had allegedly left the helpless infants entirely on their own for several days.
According to detectives, when Duke was informed that her daughter had passed away, she reportedly showed no emotion whatsoever.
Shocking court documents have laid bare the stomach-churning conditions inside the home. Pictures detailed in the paperwork are said to have shown bug-infested baby formula, rancid liquids left out and bags containing crack cocaine.
During police interrogations, Duke allegedly confessed to abandoning the toddlers for days on end. Across a 92-hour window, the mother was claimed to have only been inside the apartment with her children for a mere two hours.
While Mazouri tragically died, her twin brother was rushed to a hospital for emergency treatment.
The little boy was suffering from hypothermia, his ribs were visibly protruding and he was in a state of extreme starvation.
In a heartbreaking testament to his hunger, the youngster reportedly tried to eat a medical provider’s stethoscope because he thought it was food.
An autopsy later confirmed that baby Mazouri died from dehydration and malnourishment caused by severe neglect. Her death has been officially ruled a homicide.
Duke was arrested on June 3 and hit with a charge of first-degree felony murder, police confirmed. She is also facing charges of cruelty against children.
It has also emerged that Duke is currently pregnant. She remains remanded in custody without bond ahead of a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday (June 11).