‘Still love my husband’
He is a ‘great father,’ says mom of car-death twins
The mother of the 1-year-old twins who died in their father’s hot car in the Bronx broke her silence on Sunday to say she’s standing by her husband.
“This is my absolute worst nightmare,” Marissa Rodriguez said in a statement Sunday. “Everything I do reminds me of my sweet, intelligent, beautiful babies and I am still in disbelief.
“Though I am hurting more than I ever imagined possible, I still love my husband. He is a good person and great father and I know he would’ve never done anything to hurt our children intentionally. I will never get over this loss and I know he will never forgive himself for this mistake.
“This was a horrific accident, and I need him by my side to go through this together. Luna and Phoenix will always live in our hearts and memories and we are working hard to come to terms with what has happened. We need to grieve, be strong, and be present for our other children,” she said.
Marissa’s husband, Juan Rodriguez, accidentally left the infants strapped in the back seat of his car for eight hours Friday, when temperatures hit 85 degrees.
The babies, Phoenix and Luna, turned 1 on July 8, and their proud papa threw an elaborate party to celebrate the occasion. “They had balloons and a bouncy house and tents and all this stuff,” said David Maayani, 48, who lives next door the Rodriguezes. “I’m sure no one throws parties for their kids like they do.”
Maayani said Juan and his family were “good, quiet” neighbors who spent many weekends barbecuing in their Rockland County backyard.
But that idyllic lifestyle collapsed Friday when Rodriguez, 39, left the twins in their car seats in the back of his Honda Accord while it was parked at the VA Medical Center in Kingsbridge, where he works.
He later told police he believed he had dropped them off at day care. Their internal body temperatures were 108 degrees by the time they were found.
Rodriguez, a disabled Iraq War veteran who makes a living helping other vets, was charged Saturday with two counts each of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child. “It’s ruined their lives, I understand that,” said Maayani. “He was a good guy and then this happens?”