Central Florida authorities have arrested a young couple on charges of neglect after their newborn twin babies had to be hospitalized.
Madison Smith23 and Lilley Somersall III24, of Sanford, Florida, was charged with child neglect and serious bodily injury.
The twin babies – a boy and a girl, born five months ago – were taken to the hospital after being found unconscious on January 6, police said. There, medical staff quickly realized the twins were severely malnourished and extremely dehydrated.
According to arrest documents obtained by Us Weekly, hospital officials called police to tell them the babies’ bones were exposed and their bellies were dented. The brother and sister, whose names are withheld from court records, weighed just 5.7 pounds when they were admitted.
The arrest report said the baby boy was actually heavier when he was discharged from the hospital after his birth.
The infants were “thin” in appearance and had low blood sugar levels, according to the arrest report. The nurse also told police the babies appeared to be “very sick, malnourished and malnourished.”
The twins were born a month premature and Smith tested positive for THC while the babies were in the womb, the arrest report states.
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“There was concern that the children were not being fed properly,” the arrest report read, noting the couple had a “history” of filing complaints with the Department of Children and Families.
Child Protective Services received a report that the twins may have been abused, the report said.
During a police interview at the hospital, the couple allegedly claimed that healthcare professionals did not advise them that they needed to feed their babies more as they developed and admitted that they provided the twins with minimal amounts of formula since they were newborns.
But when they searched the couple’s RV, police allegedly found no formula on hand. Empty containers of powdered milk were also missing from the RV and trash cans, police said.
The two babies began gaining weight between Jan. 6 and Sunday, Jan. 11, as a result of regular feedings by hospital staff, police reported.
“Hospital staff stated that the two children were expected to survive,” one of whom suffered from an unspecified neurological condition, the arrest report said.
The couple are scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, January 13. It’s unclear what the outcome of the initial hearing will be. Us Weekly sought to confirm whether the couple had entered a plea or were represented by attorneys.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.