The West Melbourne Police is currently investigating the suspicious circumstances that surrounded the death of two newborn babies. The authorities stated they were called to a local home around noon, last Sunday. One infant was found dead in there. The second newborn was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, it died right away.
PEOPLE confirmed the babies were twins. However, information about their gender or if they were identical or fraternal was not mentioned.
The mother of the twins, Rachael Lynn Thomas, 30 years old, was arrested on two child neglect charges. Additionally, she faces one charge of tampering, and evidence was addressed.
Suspicious circumstances
The West Melbourne Police declared in a statement that the events were unusual. The detectives and the crime scene investigators were currently working, in collaboration with the Medical Examiner’s Office, to determine the cause of death of the baby twins.
“The fact that there are two deceased infants, that’s not normal. There could be a reasonable explanation for this and that’s part of the investigation, but there could not be a reasonable explanation,” said West Melbourne Police Captain, Richard Cordeau.
Neighbors have stated that Ms. Thoms lived with her mother. They also declared that they had only seen one infant and an older child along with her mother.
Melbourne Police and the Department of Children and Families claimed they had not had any prior contact with Ms. Thomas. Still, the department decided to open an investigation as well to find out what led to the deaths.
The other children, the twins’ older siblings, are now in the hands of Ms. Thomas’ relatives.
Facing Charges
The Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to settle how the newborn twins died. Still, authorities claimed that it could take several weeks to get a result, which include toxicology reports.
Meanwhile, the mother is being held on a $30,000 bond. She has not entered a plea yet, and it is still unknown if she has an attorney to represent her. Ms. Thomas will be arraigned on Tuesday.
The case shocked the police, considering two babies died the same day, and any of their caregivers addressed no apparent cause. Captain Richard Cordeau sentenced:
“It is something that is very serious. We will methodically investigate this to try to get the answers that the children here deserve.”
Source: PEOPLE