Police: 2 toddler siblings who died minutes apart were beaten



NEW YORK — A New York Police Department official says two toddler siblings who died just minutes apart had been beaten and bled to death.

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says 2-year-old Olivia Gee and her 3-year-old brother, Micah, also had organ failure.

The city's medical examiner declared the case a homicide on Tuesday. It said the Bronx children died from blunt impact injuries of the torso.

Police say their mother called 911 at around 1:15 a.m. Monday after her boyfriend found them unconscious. They had been put to bed at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

The mother told authorities the children had severe asthma. She was hospitalized after their deaths.

The boyfriend has an attorney and was not speaking to police.

No one has been charged in the deaths.