Sentenced: 3YO Twins Die After Suspected Drug Overdose, Mother Arrested

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A 3-year-old boy died Thursday and his twin brother is in grave condition after they were exposed to or ingested deadly drugs, according to law enforcement sources who spoke with The Times.

LAPD officials on Friday declined to expound on the substance involved, but law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said the toddlers had come into contact with drugs that were laced with fentanyl, the highly potent synthetic opioid. The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said the drugs were easily accessible in parts of the Canoga Park home where the boys were found unresponsive Thursday morning.

Josiah James was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. He had just celebrated his third birthday two days before.

His brother, whose name was not given, is still hospitalized. Law enforcement sources said he was in grave condition.

The twins’ mother, Jestice James, was arrested on suspicion of murder. James, 22, is being held in lieu of $2 million bail.

The family has a history with the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services.

3-year-old dies after suspected drug overdose, twin in grave condition; mother arrested

Jestice James was arrested on suspicion of murder after her 3-year-old son Josiah died following what law enforcement sources say was an exposure to narcotics at their home.

www.latimes.com

A witness told KTLA5 that the boys' parents were hysterical as a neighbor attempted to perform CPR on the children before paramedics arrived.

``I came in, there's a kid sitting on the table and I started giving him CPR, and my friend says, `Oh my God, there's another one,''' neighbor Chris Burko said.

 

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The other twin Jestine died late Saturday.

3-year-old boys die after fentanyl exposure; CA mother charged with murder

The twin boys died after they were apparently exposed to fentanyl.

abc7chicago.com

 

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A Winnetka woman has pleaded no contest to child abuse charges in connection with the fentanyl-related deaths of her twin 3-year-old sons last year, according to court records obtained Thursday.

Jestice James, now 23, was immediately sentenced to 18 years in state prison after her no contest plea Wednesday to six felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The boys were identified in the criminal complaint as Josiah J. and Jestine J.


Records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office indicated that the toddlers died of fentanyl toxicity.

Assistant Head Deputy Jonathan Hatami said James had been using fentanyl outside her apartment and placed the unused remaining fentanyl in a colorful container inside her purse. The two boys got inside her purse while she was asleep, ingested the fentanyl and were discovered not breathing the following morning, Hatami said.


Police and paramedics responded July 11, 2024, to a home on the 20000 block of Sherman Way, near Winnetka Avenue, where the woman found her twin boys “unresponsive,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The boys were taken to a hospital, where Josiah was pronounced dead early that day and Jestine was pronounced dead three days later, according to records from the medical examiner’s office.

James — who had no prior felony criminal record — admitted the crime, was remorseful and waived her appellate rights, according to Hatami, who added that the twins’ grandmother, sister and other family members were fully supportive of the plea.

In fentanyl deaths of twin 3-year-olds, Winnetka mother pleads no contest to child abuse

The boys got inside their mother’s purse while she was asleep, ingested the fentanyl and were discovered not breathing the following morning, a prosecutor said.

www.dailynews.com