3 Charged With Starving 2-Month-Old New Jersey Twins; 1 Baby Dead

Three people in New Jersey have been charged with starving 2-month-old twins, leading to the death of one of them.

In a statement Monday, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office announced that 36-year-old Joy Wilson, 22-year-old Sharode Snell and a 17-year-old person were charged with two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count each of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree aggravated assault in connection with the incident. Though some local media outlets reported that the accused were the infants' parents and local guardian, there was no official confirmation.

On July 8, 2019, police went to a home after receiving a report of an unresponsive baby. The infant, later identified as Alice, was rushed to a nearby hospital but she was declared dead on arrival.

Hours later, her twin, identified as Amanda, was taken to the same hospital after she started vomiting. She was transported to another hospital after tests determined that she was "severely underweight and had healing injuries."

In July this year, the medical examiner's office, which had requested additional testing to determine the exact cause of Alice's death, ruled the infant's death as a homicide. Tests revealed the girl died from starvation and not from a genetic disorder.

All the three were charged on Nov. 18 and the following day, Wilson was taken into custody. Four days later, the other two accused were traced and arrested in North Carolina by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.

Speaking about the case, Camden County Acting-prosecutor Jill S. Mayer said, "This is one of those tragic cases that you can hardly believe when you learn the suffering these two babies went through, ultimately leading to one of their deaths."

"While we are deeply saddened that one of the babies died as a result of this abuse, we are grateful that her twin sister was able to be treated and is now thriving and safe. The lengthy and meticulous investigation in this matter was of paramount importance to everyone who took part in it, from the CCPO detectives, assistant prosecutors, and victim advocates to the Gloucester Township detectives, to the doctors at the New Jersey CARES Institute, to the Camden County Medical Examiner’s Office. Each agency worked tirelessly to bring about some measure of justice for these babies," Mayer said in the statement.