The infant twins who died — A mystery I can’t stop thinking about

Perhaps by the time this publishes we'll already be learning the answer. But as I write this, I can't stop hearing the 911 call in my head. I can't stop thinking about the terror and despair in this woman's voice. And I can't stop wondering what on earth happened.

According to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, around 8 am Wednesday in an apartment in Lindenwold twin 7 month olds were found unresponsive. A sobbing mother had called 911 reporting her twins were purple and not breathing. Asked by the dispatcher if she knew CPR, she said she had tried for 15 minutes before calling. As the father of a two week old boy, my heart breaks for this woman. I can't stop wondering why it happened. Authorities have been tight-lipped.

She says she found them both on their stomachs. If it were one child, you'd think Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. That it was twins, dying the same morning, makes that seemingly impossible. I've heard people speculate perhaps they had a congenital heart condition. Okay, but again, for it to strike them both at the identical time seems mathematically preposterous. It would make sense to me if it were due to a carbon monoxide leak in the building. Some say then why wouldn't the mother have been stricken? A larger person could withstand the effects of the poisoning whereas a young baby might not. Still though, we've heard no reports of any utilities being on site which would surely have been the case. So even this appears unlikely at this point.

One thing I wonder is with them being twins, could they have shared a severe allergy that was as yet unknown. At 7 months old, a parent could start introducing certain foods that perhaps they never had before. Is it possible that before bed the twins were fed something that no one could have known they would have an allergic reaction to and they went into anaphylactic shock? It would also make sense that if you were going to try out a new food you would give it to both babies.

Of course there's been more sinister speculation. Hearing the woman's grief in the 911 call and thinking of her loss, I cannot let my mind go there unless given a solid reason.