KIMORA and KAMARI ROBERSON (Twins) - 13 Months (2010) - Chicago/South side IL

Thirteen-month-old twins Kimora and Kamari Roberson were underweight
and overheated when they died in their Far South Side home, officials
said on Friday.The sisters, who each weighed only about 13
pounds, died of hyperthermia, environmental exposure and failure to
thrive due to maternal neglect, according to the Cook County medical
examiner's office.The deaths were ruled homicides, and the
babies' mother, Regina Lofton, 21, was charged on Friday with felony
child endangerment resulting in the death of a child.

"This is a senseless tragedy where two 1-year-old girls are dead,
and that's just incomprehensible to me," said Chicago police Supt. Jody
Weis at a news conference Friday. "It's horrific." Police were
called to the home in the 10600 block of South Wentworth Avenue, where
the infants lived with their mother and other family members, about 5:50
p.m. Thursday. About the same time, neighbor Archie Easter said
he heard a woman screaming from the home, "My babies! My babies!"
Paramedics arrived moments later and took the girls to Roseland
Community Hospital, where they were pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m.,
according to the medical examiner's office. A little earlier
Thursday afternoon, Lee Sweis, a manager at a nearby fast-food
restaurant, said that Lofton ordered a shrimp basket. "She seemed happy," said Sweis, "And then minutes later it was chaos." Children who are undernourished and suffering from what is known as
failure to thrive can be more vulnerable to heat, said Dr. Kelley
Staley, associate medical director of child protective services at Comer
Children's Hospital. Hyperthermia — abnormally high body
temperature — can lead to dehydration, salt imbalances and heart
complications that can be fatal, said Staley, who would not comment on
the specific case of the two girls. "Severe failure to thrive
would definitely make [a child] more vulnerable" to dying of
hyperthermia in a warm room that would not severely affect a normal
person, Staley said. The Illinois Department of Children and
Family Services is investigating, said spokesman Jimmie Whitelow. DCFS
had no prior contact with the twins' family, Whitelow said. The twins' aunt Cynthia Hike said that she was shocked when Lofton called to tell her the girls had died. "It's two babies who did not have a chance to live," said Hike, the
sister of the toddlers' father. "There are no words for that. There are
no words for two little people who you've just seen a day ago, and now
you're not going to see them anymore." Hike said the parents of the twins have a younger girl, and Lofton has two older children. "It's hard for anyone who is 21 years old with more than one child,"
said Lofton. "She is young, but she is still loving. She loves her
children. She is heartbroken." Lofton is due in Cook County Bond Court on Saturday.

The only window in the room where 13-month-old twin girls died Thursday,
partly due to abnormally high body temperatures, was blocked by towels,
prosecutors said.
And though the room where Kimora and Kamari Roberson were found had an
air conditioner, it wasn't in use, Assistant State's Attorney Yolanda
Lippert said.
"The bedroom was extremely hot and had no ventilation," Lippert said in
bond court Saturday, describing the living conditions as "deplorable."
The second floor of the yellow, wood-framed house in Roseland where they lived was littered with dog feces, urine and dirty diapers, Lippert said.
Judge Jackie Marie Portman ordered the girls' mother, Regina Lofton, 22,
held in lieu of $350,000. She faces as many as 20 years in prison.
Upon hearing the decision, Lofton, who is charged with child endangerment in connection to the twins' deaths, began to cry.
That triggered emotions on both sides of the twins' family. One of Lofton's sisters dropped to the floor and wept.
After the hearing, a crowd of more than a dozen relatives spilled
outside the courthouse, where screams of "It's your fault!" erupted into
swinging fists.
Courtroom deputies pulled the twins' paternal grandmother, Jaqueline Ray, apart from some of Lofton's relatives.
After tempers calmed down Saturday, both sides agreed that Lofton was an overwhelmed mother.
She had recently given birth to another baby who was born prematurely
and is still hospitalized, her family said. Another child is with
relatives, while a fifth child is in the custody of the Illinois
Department of Children and Family Services.
"I just don't want people to think that she's a bad person, because
she's not," said Loretta Brantley, Lofton's aunt. "I know it looks bad."
According to Brantley, Lofton lost her stable footing after her own mother died in 2006.
She briefly moved in with Brantley. Eventually, she began to stay with
Ray and Ray's 19-year-old son, who is father to the twins. He has not
been available for comment.
"Gigi is not a bad mother," Ray said of Lofton, using her nickname.
"She's just young and she's been through a lot. Ain't no one trying to
help her. She's not a bad person; everybody makes mistakes."
"I'm an emotional wreck," Ray added. "I came home and my only grandkids
were gone. I tried to provide as much as I could for my grandkids."
The girls, who each weighed 13 pounds, died of abnormally high body
temperature, environmental exposure and failure to thrive due to
maternal neglect, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, which ruled the deaths as homicides.
The girls lived with their mother and several other family members, Lippert said.
On Thursday, Lofton put them down for a nap in an upstairs bedroom
around 10 a.m., closed the door and did not check on them for five and a
half hours, Lippert said. Neither did anyone else, relatives
acknowledged.
Around 5:50 p.m., police were called. Brantley said Lofton told her she
discovered the twins when she went upstairs to feed them.
With DCFS also investigating the safety of the other children, Lofton's relatives vowed their support.
"Her family is here for her," said Brantley, "every single last one of us."

Bail has been set at $350,000 for a Chicago
mother charged in the deaths of her 1-year-old twin daughters.

Cook County prosecutors have charged 21-year-old Regina Lofton
with child endangerment.

She appeared in bond court Saturday. It wasn't immediately clear
who Lofton is being represented by.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office says her daughters,
Kimora and Kamari Roberson, died of hyperthermia, environmental
exposure and failure to thrive due to maternal neglect.

Prosecutors say the conditions inside Lofton's home were
"deplorable."

They say the home's windows were covered with towels, and a
window air conditioning unit wasn't in use.

The floor where the girls were found unresponsive Thursday was
allegedly covered with dog waste.

Prosecutor: Mom didn't check on twins for 5 1/2 hours

A South Side mother wept during her first court appearance today as prosecutors accused her of putting her malnourished twin babies down for a nap in a sweltering bedroom Thursday morning and failing to check on them for the next 5 1/2 hours-- leading to their deaths.

Tears streamed down 21-year-old Regina Lofton's face as Cook County Judge Jackie Marie Portman set bond at $350,000 on charges of felony child endangerment causing death.

"The defendant is here because she caused the death of her two twin baby girls," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Yolanda Lippert told the judge.

About 10 a.m. Thursday, as the mercury worked its way toward the 90-degree mark, Lofton put the 13-month-old girls, Kimora and Kamari Roberson, down for a nap in a sweltering upstairs bedroom at the family's home at 106th and Wentworth, Lippert said.

"There was an air conditioner in the room which the defendant did not use. The only window in the room was blocked by towels," she said.

The mother didn't check on the babies for 5 1/2 hours, according to law enforcement accounts. An autopsy determined they suffered from hyperthermia, environmental exposure and failure to thrive due to maternal neglect ? a reference to their low weight.

"The malnutrition and neglect the twins had suffered made them more susceptible to the severe heat," Lippert told the judge.

Several family members lived in the home where living conditions were "deplorable," Lippert said. The second floor was covered in dog feces and urine, as well as dirty diapers, she said.

More than a dozen family and friends of Lofton and the deceased twins attended the hearing. One woman in the group gasped and sobbed and later collapsed in a courtroom hallway.

Outside the courthouse, anguish turned to anger among some members of the group as one woman pointed at two others and screamed, "It's your fault!" Cook County sheriff's deputies had to intervene, telling the group to disperse.

While family and friends declined to talk with reporters, one of the women who had a finger pointed at her outside the courthouse told a deputy, "They're trying to blame me." She then got on her cell phone and said: "I didn't do anything. I loved my two nieces. I took care of them."

If convicted, Lofton faces up to 10 years in prison.
BY LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporter/ldonovan@suntimes.com

Overwhelmed mother left twins in 'deplorable' conditions

The only window in the room where 13-month-old twin girls died Thursday, partly due to abnormally high body temperatures, was blocked by towels, prosecutors said.

And though the room where Kimora and Kamari Roberson were found had an air conditioner, it wasn't in use, Assistant State's Attorney Yolanda Lippert said.

"The bedroom was extremely hot and had no ventilation," Lippert said in bond court Saturday, describing the living conditions as "deplorable."
The second floor of the yellow, wood-framed house in Roseland where they lived was littered with dog feces, urine and dirty diapers, Lippert said.

Judge Jackie Marie Portman ordered the girls' mother, Regina Lofton, 22, held in lieu of $350,000. She faces as many as 20 years in prison.

Upon hearing the decision, Lofton, who is charged with child endangerment in connection to the twins' deaths, began to cry.

That triggered emotions on both sides of the twins' family. One of Lofton's sisters dropped to the floor and wept.

After the hearing, a crowd of more than a dozen relatives spilled outside the courthouse, where screams of "It's your fault!" erupted into swinging fists.

Courtroom deputies pulled the twins' paternal grandmother, Jaqueline Ray, apart from some of Lofton's relatives.

After tempers calmed down Saturday, both sides agreed that Lofton was an overwhelmed mother.

She had recently given birth to another baby who was born prematurely and is still hospitalized, her family said. Another child is with relatives, while a fifth child is in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

"I just don't want people to think that she's a bad person, because she's not," said Loretta Brantley, Lofton's aunt. "I know it looks bad."

According to Brantley, Lofton lost her stable footing after her own mother died in 2006.

She briefly moved in with Brantley. Eventually, she began to stay with Ray and Ray's 19-year-old son, who is father to the twins. He has not been available for comment.

"Gigi is not a bad mother," Ray said of Lofton, using her nickname. "She's just young and she's been through a lot. Ain't no one trying to help her. She's not a bad person; everybody makes mistakes."

"I'm an emotional wreck," Ray added. "I came home and my only grandkids were gone. I tried to provide as much as I could for my grandkids."

The girls, who each weighed 13 pounds, died of abnormally high body temperature, environmental exposure and failure to thrive due to maternal neglect, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, which ruled the deaths as homicides.

The girls lived with their mother and several other family members, Lippert said.

On Thursday, Lofton put them down for a nap in an upstairs bedroom around 10 a.m., closed the door and did not check on them for five and a half hours, Lippert said. Neither did anyone else, relatives acknowledged.

Around 5:50 p.m., police were called. Brantley said Lofton told her she discovered the twins when she went upstairs to feed them.

With DCFS also investigating the safety of the other children, Lofton's relatives vowed their support.

"Her family is here for her," said Brantley, "every single last one of us."

deldeib@tribune.com

lbowean@tribune.com

everyone living in that dump needs to be charged with neglect.

I couldn't agree with you more Flash. And they all should be sterilized as they are pure idiots. It should have been obvious to anyone there that they were literally putting those babies in an oven and they were weak and frail weighing only 13 lbs. Sorry but I don't feel sorry for family that knew what was going on and act like it wasn't that bad. Idiots!

Mother sentenced for twin girls' deaths

Posted: Aug 10, 2012 5:32 PM CDT Updated: Aug 24, 2012 5:32 PM CDT

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) -
A South Side mother of malnourished twin girls who died from heat exposure and neglect was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday after she pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangerment.

Kimora and Kamari Roberson, 1, died from heat-related "hyperthermia" in 2010 but Cook County Medical Examiner's officials listed "failure to thrive due to maternal neglect" as a contributing factor.


Read more: Mother sentenced for twin girls' deaths - KMSP-TV http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/19250650/cta-brown-line-train-hits-police-car#ixzz2yrwIPVVV