A Bronx mother and grandmother have been taken into custody after authorities accused them of fatally starving a 16-year-old boy with autism.
The teenager, identified as Adonis Jarvis, was declared dead at a Bronx hospital on March 19.
Police were called to the medical facility after staff observed that he appeared severely malnourished. The city Medical Examiner later determined the boy’s death was a homicide.
On Thursday, investigators arrested his mother, 36-year-old Geneva Jarvis, and his grandmother, 62-year-old Denise Jarvis, both of whom are now facing murder charges.
According to officials, an autopsy found that Adonis died from starvation. Sources said the Bronx teen weighed only about 60 pounds when he died.
Authorities also said the boy’s twin brother was hospitalized with signs of starvation but survived. Law enforcement sources described both siblings as nonverbal.
Police said the twins showed evidence of long-term neglect, including starvation and dehydration, when they arrived at the hospital. Investigators also noted sores on their legs and across their bodies.
The family had been living in a third-floor walkup apartment on East 147th Street in the Bronx.
The building superintendent told Eyewitness News that their apartment was filthy and uninhabitable.
“It’s filled with garbage and clothes all over the place, I told her I wanted to go in the apartment to fix it, she kept saying ‘OK tomorrow’ and she never let us in,” the super said.
Other neighbors said they never saw any red flags, but pointed out that the family kept to themselves.
Both women were arraigned on Thursday afternoon and were held without bail.
