Twins found in L.I. car had no outward signs of trauma; mother faces murder charges: officials

MONTAUK, N.Y. (WPIX) -- A woman accused of murdering her toddler twin daughters before attempting suicide by cop will appear in court Friday as the medical examiner works to determine how the children were killed.

Tenia Campbell is set to be arraigned on second-degree murder charges in the death of 2-year-old Jasmine and Jaida Campbell, who were located in their car seats inside their mother's vehicle at the entrance Montauk County Park Thursday afternoon, according to officials.

The children were found in cardiac arrest and immediately transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Neither child had outward signs of trauma, and the medical examiner will determine their cause of death, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said Friday.

“Unfortunately Jasmine and Jaida's lives were cut short in the most unimaginable way possible,” Hart said. “I want to express, on behalf of law enforcement, our sincerest, sincerest prayers and condolences to the Campbell family for this horrific, horrific incident.”

A frantic search for the twins began when Tenia Campbell's mother called 911 around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, saying her daughter was threatening to kill herself and the caller's granddaughters, officials said.

A three-way phone between Tenia Campbell, who was described as being “at times hysterical;” her mother and officials began. During that 12-minute call, Tenia Campbell allegedly said her daughters were already dead, and would not reveal where she was.

An Amber Alert was issued as investigators began frantically looking for the girls and their mother. Aviation, highway patrol, the Coast Guard and multiple other agencies assisted in the search.

Tenia Campbell's 4-year-old son was found at an undisclosed location during the search, and was unharmed, officials said.

Telephonic GPS was conducted, and eventually led investigators to officials finding Tenia Campbell, who had left her parked vehicle, with the girls inside, and walked to a highway where she screamed at responding officers, asking that they shoot her.