Bronx mom indicted for murder in deaths of 5-year-old twin children
The mother of 5-year-old Bronx twins initially believed to have died in a medical tragedy has been indicted in their murders, police said Tuesday.
Gloria Asamoah, 42, is “not free to leave” a psychiatric ward she has been in and out of since the Dec. 18 deaths of her kids, Gianna and George Kantanka.
The kids had been out of school and were initially thought to have died of illness, but the city medical examiner last month determined they were victims of homicide and were choked to death.
“The husband was trying to get her to bring the children to an emergency room because he said that they had been vomiting and had green mucus underneath their nose,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a Tuesday news briefing. “She said she would do it in the morning and unfortunately never did.”
Asamoah’s husband is a health care worker and was not home at the time of the twins’ deaths.
The woman called police to the apartment on E. 175th St. near Topping Ave. in Morris Heights at about 11:20 a.m., police said.
She told cops she took a shower and cleaned the apartment before she checked on the kids, whom she had spotted foaming at the mouth and nose hours earlier.
Medics rushed to the address, but Gianna and George were cold to the touch and already dead.
An autopsy was immediately conducted after their deaths but needed further study.
“School interviews resulted in teachers stating that the mom was very involved with the kids and had taken an active role in their lives,” said Kenny. “Neighbor interviews described her as a loving mother. [Police] interviewed the dad — no signs of trouble.”
A neighbor who asked not to be named was stunned over the news of Asamoah’s indictment.
“It seems like she always cared for them,” said the woman. “She was always with them, always holding them, always taking good care of them.”
The neighbor added that her own daughter often played with the twins.
“It’s horrible and heartbreaking,” she said. “I can’t see her doing anything harmful to her kids.”
After the incident, Asamoah was “so despondent” that she was taken to a psychiatric ward, where she has been under the care of a doctor.
“At this time, we have an arrest warrant for mom,” Kenny said. “She’s back in a psych ward, [and is] not free to leave at any given time.”
Asamoah, who moved to the United States from Ghana when she was 23, has been indicted on multiple felony charges, including two counts of murder for both George and Gianna, police said.
“She’s there until doctors clear her, and at that point she will be taken into custody by the NYPD,” Kenny said.
The twins’ father will not be charged in their deaths, he added.
