Mom starved her twin 14-year-old sons, shut them inside home for 9 years: DA

"A Bronx mother was arrested for starving her twin teenage sons, who she kept virtually housebound inside her Riverdale apartment for 9 years, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark announced Tuesday. Lissette Soto Domenech, 64, was charged with assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child for the abuse she inflicted on her two boys, Clark said. This defendant is accused of a shocking, horrifying form of child abuse, allegedly depriving her sons of proper food, social interaction, education, medical attention, Clark said."

"A specialist with the city's Administration for Children's Services checked on Domenech's Mosholu Ave. apartment in response to several anonymous complaints on Oct. 15, prosecutors said. Inside, Domenech's 14-year-old sons were found in an extreme state of malnourishment, with one boy weighing 54 pounds and the other just 51 pounds, according to prosecutors, who said both teens were short for their age. Medics rushed the teens to Montefiore Children's Hospital, where they were treated for three months, according to Clark's office."

"Multiple neighbors described Domenech as a recluse supported by her husband, an older man, who made daily food deliveries to his family while living out of a car. He didn't live with her. He lived in his car. It was strange, said one neighbor, who asked that her name be withheld. They never came out. Not her kids and not her."

Lissette Soto Domenech, 64, was charged with assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly starving her twin 14-year-old sons and keeping them virtually housebound in a Riverdale apartment for nine years. An Administration for Children's Services specialist checked the apartment after anonymous complaints on Oct. 15 and found both teens in extreme malnourishment, weighing 54 and 51 pounds and undersized for their age. Medics treated the boys at Montefiore Children's Hospital for three months. Neighbors described Domenech as a recluse; her husband lived in his car and delivered food that she obsessively disinfected. Prosecutors allege deprivation of food, education, medical care and social interaction.

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