LAST GASPS
Asthmatic siblings die 3 minutes apart Mom’s beau grilled as homicide eyed Marks on necks, internal injuries found
A BRONX TALE about the death of two toddlers fell apart late Monday — after internal injuries showed at least one of the kids was likely a homicide victim.
Novell Jordon told police his girlfriend’s kids — a 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy — were having trouble breathing, leading doctors and cops to believe the toddlers died of asthma attacks.
But sources say the girl, Olivia Gee, suffered injuries consistent with an assault to her abdomen and upper body. Her death, sources say, is likely to be ruled a homicide. An autopsy on her brother Micah Gee was scheduled for Tuesday, and his death could also be ruled a homicide, the sources said.
Detectives were questioning the 31-year-old Jordon, a gang member, according to sources, at the 50th Precinct stationhouse, but no charges were filed by early Tuesday.
Olivia and Micah Gee both had severe asthma, but each suffered injuries to their necks, a police source told the Daily News. The neck injuries, along with the improbability of simultaneous fatal asthma attacks, immediately raised questions for investigators, the source said. There are “certainly major questions based on the internal trauma with one of the children,” the police source added.
The source cautioned against a rush to judgment, stressing the medical examiner’s office will determine how the children died.
Olivia and Micah were having trouble breathing just after 1 a.m. Monday, Jordon told their mom, according to police. Jordon had gone to check on the kids and told the mom there was something wrong with her daughter.
The mother, a nurse practitioner, ran to the kids’ bedroom, where Olivia was unresponsive. Micah was also having trouble breathing. Jade Spencer, 31, gave her son Albuterol, a medicine that can ease breathing, and called 911.
EMS rushed the kids to Montefiore Medical Center, where Olivia died at 2:10 a.m. Micah died three minutes later, sources said.
Doctors told police the children likely had asthma attacks, according to police sources.
The mom was being treated at Montefiore after breaking down over the deaths of her children, sources said.
Charles Zsebedics, general manager of the Van Cortlandt Park South co-op building where the children lived, said the family was devastated.
“I wouldn’t even speculate until we know more,” he said, referring to the cause of death. “We’re all shaken. I’m shaken. We just don’t know what to think of it.”
The kids’ final Sunday with their mother was not unusual. The trio ran errands, went swimming at Van Cortlandt Park, ate dinner and the kids went to sleep about 8 p.m., sources said.
Around 90 minutes later, Jordon came to the family’s apartment. The couple watched TV until Spencer went to bed alone around 11:30 p.m., sources said. Jordon notified the mother of trouble at 1:15 a.m.
“I don’t know if I could survive this. Their mother is a nurse. She was wonderful with those kids,” said Irene Diaz, a neighbor of Spencer’s who is retired. “They were a beautiful family.”
Facebook photos showed the kids happy and healthy, playing with toys, hugging each other and smiling for the camera. The kids’ father, Greg Gee, posted the hugging photo March 5.
“The Gems, they can’t do no wrong with Dad!” he wrote.
Sources said Olivia and Micah also showed some signs of “petechial hemorrhaging,” or red marks caused by broken blood vessels. The injury can be caused in many ways, including through CPR.
Longtime building resident Steve Bornemann, 71, said he often saw the kids walking with their mom in the park. “I’m distraught,” he said. “You know, you see these things in the newspaper and on TV, but it’s a million miles away.”
We’re all shaken . ... We just don’t know what to think of it. CHARLES ZSEBEDICS, APT. BUILDING MANAGER