Texas Parents Arrested in Connection with Deaths of 6-Week-Old Twins Who Suffered Fractures, Brain Injuries
Fernando Vega (left) and Angelina Calderon (right) have been charged in connection with the death of their 6-week-old twin daughters, police said.
April 23 2024, Published 2:03 p.m. ET
Two parents in Texas have been arrested in connection with the death of their twin 6-week-old babies last fall, according to authorities.
On Oct. 4, 2023, police responded to a home in Houston regarding two 6-week-old babies who were found unresponsive, according to court documents obtained by KTRK.
The babies’ father, 21-year-old Fernando Vega, reported that he found the girls in their crib not breathing.
Dispatchers gave him instructions on CPR, but the girls, who were born prematurely, did not survive, officials said.
According to investigators, Vega said the girls were “fussy” all night and he put them in the bassinet, where they fell asleep.
The babies’ mother, 21-year-old Angelina Belinda Calderon, told police she saw the twins the following morning, but she didn’t wake them since she was on her way to work.
Vega then reportedly left the girls sleeping in their grandmother’s care while he took Calderon to work. When he got back home, he found the babies unresponsive, authorities said.
Initially, officers said they saw no visible signs of trauma. Investigators learned that the twins had not received checkups since their release from the hospital after their premature birth.
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Officials said Calderon admitted the girls had been sick, but she did not seek medical care.
According to court documents, x-rays found the babies had multiple fractures, including to the thigh bone and ribs and the clavicle of one of the babies.
Autopsies showed the injuries appeared to be a mix of new and old, or as old as a six-week-old baby could have.
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Doctors said the rib fractures “were not consistent with chest compressions for CPR.” Both babies had similar rib fractures, and one had a frontal head fracture. They were also both malnourished and dehydrated.
The autopsies revealed that the babies died from multiple blunt force traumas and they both had brain injuries.
On April 19, Calderon and Vega were arrested and charged with two counts of serious bodily injury to a child, officials said.
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