As in a horror soap opera, the police who were carrying out a welfare check on 5-year-old twin girls in Perth Amboy (New Jersey) recently realized something unusual: one of them had been dead since 2019, but the mother did not report it.
Officers arrested Matthew Chiles, the mother’s boyfriend, on charges of homicide. The 29 year old suspect was also charged with desecration of human remains and endangering the welfare of a minor. Allegedly “engaged in conduct resulting in the death of the missing infant in 2019 and unlawfully disposed of the remains” when the victim was two years old old, authorities said yesterday.
Police also arrested Monique Durham, the mother of the twins, on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and third-degree robbery. According to District Attorney Yolanda Ciccone, Chiles “engaged in conduct” that resulted in the death of one of his girlfriend’s daughters.
Ciccone added that no friend or relative had seen the twin for three years, but no one reported her missing. Last week, on July 26, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency contacted the Edison police to conduct a wellness check. When investigators spoke with Durham they finally discovered that a twin was missing, he reported NJ 29. 5.
Both Chiles and Durham had been held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center since Tuesday while awaiting a detention hearing, reported Pix11.
It is not clear how the suspects hid the death of the minor for the last three years. Apparently, the fact that he had a twin sister helped them to hide his absence.
All charges they are mere accusations and the persons prosecuted are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Several children have died in recent months in 2021 in NYC, victims of alleged abuse in their homes. Other cases have also been reported in 2022. If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being mistreated, especially if they are a minor or elderly:
- Call 911 or 1.888.NYCWELL (1.888.692.9355).
- Text “WELL” to 65173.
- Check information at https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/es/