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Writer's pictureMary Murphy

Latent Fingerprints Tied to Twin Newborns Found Murdered in 2020

They were identical, twin baby boys.


Thrown into a rat-filled courtyard behind a Bronx apartment building, with their umbilical cords still attached, the tiny brothers were given the names Zeke and Zain by NYPD homicide detectives, who helped pay for their burial three years ago this week....on September 25, 2021. The church service for the twins was held nearly eleven months after they were killed in November 2020.


Twin newborn boys, Zeke and Zain, were buried in the same casket

"I think about the case every day," said retired Bronx Homicide Commander, Lt. William Sean O'Toole.


Now, investigators are hoping latent fingerprints discovered on a plastic bag wrapped around one infant--and prints found on a second bag near the other twin--will lead them to the person who assaulted them and tossed them into the trash.


The twin newborns were discovered on November 9, 2020 -- after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had passed--by a building super working in the courtyard at College Avenue and East 172 Street in the Bronx. One of the infants had a fractured skull and the other had a broken arm and ribs.


Corner of E.172 Street and College Avenue in the Bronx, close to courtyard where newborns found.

Corner of E.172 Street and College Avenue in the Bronx, close to courtyard where newborns found.


The Medical Examiner determined the boys died from blunt force trauma, possibly thrown from a fire escape or roof. They were born alive.


"They took breaths, so they were alive," retired Lt. O'Toole said.


One of the boys had a mat wrapped around him, the kind of mat dogs use for urination.


And even though the initial theory considered the strong possibility the twin newborns were thrown out the window, medical examiners said at least one of them was likely assaulted.


"There was one baby whose injuries were not consistent with being thrown out a window," O'Toole noted.


A surveillance camera installed behind the building wasn't working on November 9, 2020, so that hampered efforts to solve the case. Police did DNA tests on most of the residents living in the building.


Every year on November 9th, Bronx homicide investigators join community members and representatives from the District Attorney's office to hold a vigil for the slain baby brothers.


They mourn the fact that a hospital was located just three blocks away from the apartment building, where the full term, twin boys could have been safely delivered into the world. And they remind the public that New York State law allows for newborns to be dropped off at any firehouse, church, police precinct or medical facility, without any threat of prosecution.


The names selected for the twins had special significance to the detectives who picked them.


Zeke stands for "God's strength," and Zain represents "God's gift."


The brothers who never had the chance to live even a day of their lives were buried in the same, white casket, with NYPD homicide detectives serving as pallbearers.


Twin newborn boys, Zeke and Zain, were buried in the same casket.

Twin newborn boys, Zeke and Zain, were buried in the same casket.

291 views4 comments

4 Comments


Guest
6 days ago

so very Sad

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Guest
6 days ago

Maybe genetic genealogy sites can help even after so long. Or perhaps one of the relatives got arrested and had to submit DNA.

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Michele Kutner
Michele Kutner
Sep 30

Sick people in this world..the lowest of the low to hurt a newborn child...They are dirt pure dirt...

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dominick leogrande
dominick leogrande
Sep 29

All I could do is pray that they are with our Lord and are playing with other children. I say a prayer while I have a sickening feeling in my stomach. It doesn't get worse or more demonic then this story. Dom Tampa Florida

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