NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — An arrest was made nearly five years after a set of newborn twin boys were found dead outside a Bronx apartment building with their umbilical cords still attached, police announced Friday.
Investigators charged 36-year-old Stephanie Castillo—the mother of the babies, nicknamed Zeke and Zane—with murder and manslaughter in connection to their deaths.
She is believed to have killed them and dropped them out a window. The building’s superintendent found the newborns in the alley on Nov. 9, 2020.
Castillo was taken into custody Friday morning after leaving a Bronx homeless shelter, authorities said. Police listed her address as a shelter in Morris Heights.
Detectives learned that at the time of the killing, Castillo was living in the building where the babies were found with her parents, but moved out shortly after. She was recently connected to the infants via DNA, officials said.
A vigil has been held every year at 1460 College Ave. in Claremont since the deaths of Zeke and Zane, as investigators remained stumped by a lack of witnesses or surveillance footage.
The NYPD has repeatedly appealed to the public for more information, even offering a $10,000 reward for information at the 2022 vigil.
According to police, Castillo was not known to be pregnant nor was noticeably pregnant at the time of the deaths.