Mother Arrested After 1-Year-Old Found Dead At Home, Twin Critically Injured

A mother was arrested after a one-year-old girl died and her twin brother was critically hurt after police found them inside a Queens apartment, New York, according to reports Thursday.

So far no charges were filed against 30-year-old Tina Moussighi Torabi.

According to police, they were called to a home on Ashby Avenue in the Auburndale neighborhood Wednesday night. The woman lived in the basement of the home with her five children who were all under the age of 10. Sources told CBS New York the woman was the only adult in the house at the time of the incident and she was also the one who called 911.

Upon arriving at the home, the police found one-year-old Elaina Torabi unconscious and unresponsive. They rushed her to Flushing Hospital right away, but she was pronounced dead at the Hospital. The cause of death will be revealed after the autopsy, said a report in ABC 7. A source told the channel the girl had bruising on her genitals, bruises on the back of her head, a large wound on her abdomen, and blisters and open wounds all over her body.

Her twin brother, Keon, who suffered severe body trauma and was left with an inch of life, according to reports, and was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center. He was expected to survive. Keon suffered from a broken hip, a lacerated liver and severe swelling in his abdomen.

The police said they found the other three children — girls who were aged between three to five — in the basement apartment, adding the family was living in extremely poor conditions. All three were unharmed.

“I think the baby was dead already,” Sica, a real estate agent who lives three doors down, told the New York Times. “She [Torabi] was acting very remorseful and sad about the situation. I gave her my flip-flops, because she had no shoes.”

Torabi was unable to reveal what happened in the basement to the detectives that questioned her. She was not charged, and will not be appearing in court until Friday.

Though detectives were investigating a possibility of domestic violence, city officials said there were no such allegations by anyone, a report said.

The Administration for Children's Services released a statement regarding the incident which said, "Our top priority is protecting the safety and well-being of all children in New York City. We are investigating this case, and we have taken action to secure the safety of the other children in this home."

“I gave the older one a hug and she wanted her mommy. I was just trying to allay their fears and have them taken care of,” a neighbor, Judanna Cavallo told CBS New York. “With five children, I told her if at any time she ever needed anyone to turn to, day or night – even if it’s the middle of the night – that I’d always be here for her.” She described the mother as “beautiful, vivacious, outgoing, and friendly.”