North Carolina mom Tamiya Tomlin was charged with first-degree murder this week in connection with the starvation death of her baby, authorities said. The infant's twin brother was found near death, prosecutors say.
A North Carolina mother was charged with first-degree murder this week for allegedly starving to death her 5-month-old baby, whose "skin and bones" twin brother was found near death, authorities said.
Tamiya Tomlin, 24, was already jailed on two counts of felony child abuse when the Guilford County District Attorney's office announced Monday that a murder charge was filed over the death of Amir Tomlin, who was pronounced dead on Christmas Day after Tomlin called 911 to say her baby was unresponsive.
At a bond hearing on Tuesday, a prosecutor told the court that Tomlin told first responders she had fed the twin boys and then put them down for a nap, and that she later awoke to find one of the babies "was not breathing."
The infant died at a nearby hospital, authorities said.
Crime-scene investigators said they noted the other baby was "skin and bones" and they "could see where his joints were visible, and he appeared to be very malnourished," the prosecutor said.
Tomlin was ordered held without bail on the murder charge, according to online jail records. She appeared via a video link from the Guilford County Jail, where she has been held since her arrest on Dec. 28 on child abuse charges, the records show. She had been held on those counts in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to the records.
An autopsy subsequently determined the infant's death was a homicide caused by malnourishment, starvation, as well as a low heart rate and hypothermia, authorities said.
Tomlin covered her face and wept during the video hearing, in which she was told she could face death or life in prison if convicted of the murder charge.
The twins had been born premature, with THC, the stimulant agent of marijuana, in their systems, the court was told Tuesday. They weighted 4.5 pounds at birth, the prosecutor said, and five months later the babies weighed only 5 pounds, he told the court.
A woman who identified herself as Tomlin's sister spoke on her behalf, telling the court she and her sister had fed the twins on Christmas Day, before paramedics were called.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out for comment to Tomlin's public defender. Tomlin did not enter a plea at Tuesday's hearing. Her next court date is scheduled for Aug. 22.
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