Mom charged with murder after 5-month-old dies from starvation while twin was 'near death'
07/27/2023 2:52 pm PDT
GREENSBORO, N.C. (TCD) -- A 24-year-old mother faces a murder charge after her 5-month-old son died of starvation on Christmas and his twin was close to dying.
Tamiya Tomlin was initially arrested Dec. 28, 2022, on two counts of child abuse with serious physical injury, but records show she was charged with murder July 24.
According to WGHP-TV, on Dec. 25, 2022, Tomlin called 911 and said her infant son, Amir Wright, was not breathing. Prosecutors reportedly testified in court this week that on Christmas, Amir and his twin took a nap, and she did the same. Officials from the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office said Tomlin "woke up a couple hours later, her blankets were soiled and she looked at one of her twins and he was not breathing, so she called 9-1-1."
Medics transported the twins to a nearby hospital, where Amir was pronounced dead. His cause of death was malnutrition and starvation, and his manner of death was murder.
Amir’s twin reportedly looked like "skin and bones." Prosecutors said the boy’s joints were visible and he "appeared to be very malnourished."
Doctors reportedly noted the twin was "also near death due to malnutrition."
The Winston-Salem Journal reports Tomlin moved from Ohio to North Carolina and gave birth to the twins two days later. The boys reportedly weighed 4 1/2 pounds when they were born and had traces of THC in their system. They weighed 5 pounds when they were 5 months old.
Tomlin reportedly admitted to authorities that she had interactions with Child Protective Services in the past.
Tomlin is being held in the Guilford County Jail without bond.
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