Mother Charged Over Smothering Deaths of 5-Year-Old Twins in New York City: Reports

Gloria Asamoah is currently in a psychiatric ward at a New York City hospital, according to reports.

The mother of 5-year-old twins found smothered to death in New York City is facing murder charges related to their deaths, according to several media reports.

Gloria Asamoah, 42, was indicted by a grand jury on multiple felony charges, including two counts of murder, after her 5-year-old twins George and Gianna Kantanka were found dead in their apartment in December, according to WPIX, WABC-TV and News 12 Bronx.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told WPIX that a warrant for Asamoah’s arrest has been issued and that she is currently in a psychiatric ward at a nearby hospital.

“[The] autopsy reveals that both kids’ cause of death was asphyxia, meaning that they were choked,” Kenny told the outlet. “At this time, we have an arrest warrant for Mom. She’s back in a psych ward, and she’s not free to leave at any given time.”

Related: N.Y.C. Twins Were Smothered to Death, Officials Say, Months After Deaths Were Believed to Be 'Medical Tragedy'

Kenny told WPIX that Asamoah had been hospitalized for mental issues shortly after her twins were found dead, and he noted that there had been no prior reports of child abuse at the home she lived in alongside her husband and the children’s father.

“No prior active ACS cases, there was food in the fridge, plenty of clothing for the kids, school interviews resulted in saying the mom was very involved with the kids [and she] had taken an active role in their lives,” Kenny said.

Asamoah will be arraigned on the indictment after she is cleared by doctors at the psychiatric ward, WABC-TV reported.

Related: ‘Skeletal Remains’ of Dylan Rounds Believed to Have Been Found 2 Years After He Vanished

The NYPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

According to an NYPD news release obtained by PEOPLE of the incident in December, Asamoah told police she had found the two children throwing up in bed. She said she last saw the children alive at 5 a.m. that day but didn't call 911 until around 11 a.m. after she found them in medical distress, according to the Daily News and WCBS-TV.

Police said the kids were found in bed, foaming from the nose and mouth, according to NBC New York and the New York Post. Asamoah said she performed CPR on the children until EMTs arrived. The children were pronounced dead at the scene.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 

Initially, Kenny said the situation appeared “to be a medical tragedy.” However, last month, the Medical Examiner ruled the deaths of the twin brother and sister as homicides caused by smothering.

The father of the children had been at work that morning and is not expected to be charged, according to WPIX.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.