LOS ANGELES—A second 3-year-old boy who was brought to a hospital from a home in the Winnetka neighborhood has died, days after the death of his twin sibling, as their 22-year-old mother remained behind bars in connection with their deaths, authorities said July 15.
Police and paramedics responded at about 11:20 a.m. July 12 to a home in the 20000 block of Sherman Way, where Jestice James found her 3-year-old twin boys “unresponsive,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
The toddlers were both taken to a hospital, where one of them was pronounced dead early July 12 afternoon and the other was listed in critical condition. The child who died on July 12 was identified by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner as Josiah James.
On Monday, July 15, the LAPD said the second boy died over the weekend. His name has not been released. The investigation was continuing to determine their official cause of death.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the children had ingested, or been exposed to, an unknown substance,” according to an LAPD statement. “The mother and other residents of the home were transported to the LAPD Topanga Community Police Station for questioning.”
Jestice James was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
A witness told KTLA5 that the boys’ parents were hysterical as a neighbor attempted to perform CPR on the children before paramedics arrived.
“I came in, there’s a kid sitting on the table and I started giving him CPR, and my friend says, ‘Oh my God, there’s another one,”’ neighbor Chris Burko told the station.
