Court records say the boy was found alive beside his dead sister after days without care.
WASHINGTON — A 13-month-old boy found alive beside his dead twin sister in a Southeast D.C. apartment has become a key part of a murder case against their mother, who is accused of leaving both children alone for days.
The boy survived, but authorities said he was dehydrated, malnourished and in need of hospital treatment when emergency crews reached the apartment Jan. 18. His sister, Mazouri Jones, was pronounced dead at the scene. Their mother, 25-year-old Valencia Duke, was arrested June 3 and charged with first-degree felony murder and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children. Officials said the charges cover both Mazouri’s death and the near death of her twin brother.
The case centers on what investigators say happened inside an apartment on the 4700 block of Southern Avenue Southeast between Jan. 14 and Jan. 18. Court documents say Duke left the twins alone in the residence during that stretch. Local reports citing charging papers said she spent only about two hours inside the apartment with them across more than 92 hours. The children were 13 months old, not old enough to feed themselves, get water or leave the playpen where investigators said they were found. By the time police arrived, one child had died and the other was barely surviving.
Sixth District officers were dispatched at about 6:03 p.m. Jan. 18 for a report of an unconscious child. They found a girl and a boy inside the apartment. D.C. Fire and EMS pronounced Mazouri dead after finding no signs consistent with life. The boy was taken to a local hospital, where officials said he stayed for several days. Doctors and emergency workers later described signs of severe neglect. Local reporting from court records said the boy had hypothermia, visible ribs and extreme hunger. One account said he tried to eat a paramedic’s stethoscope because he appeared to think it was food.
Prosecutors did not publicly release the boy’s name, and officials have not given a detailed update on his long-term condition. The known facts about him come mainly from charging documents and early medical descriptions. Those records place him beside his sister in the same apartment where investigators said the children had been left without proper care. Authorities have not publicly said who called 911 or what led someone to report the unconscious child. They also have not released a full timeline of Duke’s whereabouts during the four-day period, beyond the allegation that she was mostly absent from the apartment.
On April 3, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Mazouri’s death a homicide. The medical ruling listed dehydration and malnourishment due to neglect as the cause of death. That finding came more than two months after the twins were found and became the basis for police to seek an arrest warrant. The Metropolitan Police Department announced the arrest June 4, saying members of the Capitol Regional Fugitive Task Force had taken Duke into custody the previous day. U.S. prosecutors said Duke made her first court appearance that same week before Superior Court Judge Heidi Hermann.
The apartment itself is part of the evidence in the case. Charging documents described a filthy and cluttered home. Photos described in local reports showed food debris across the space, laundry around the playpen, sinks filled with water, baby formula with insects inside and rancid liquids. Investigators also reported finding what police believed was crack cocaine in bags inside the living space. Those details may be used by prosecutors to show the conditions in which the children were left. Duke’s defense has not publicly responded in detail to each allegation in the charging papers.
At Duke’s initial appearance June 4, Judge Hermann found probable cause that she committed the offenses and ordered her held without bond pending trial. Duke’s attorney told the court she was pregnant. Local reports said the hearing also disclosed that Duke has an older child. Officials have not released the status of that child, and they have not said whether any child welfare investigation was active before Jan. 18. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma McArthur is prosecuting the case, while the Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is investigating.
The charges carry serious stakes because prosecutors say Duke’s alleged neglect caused both a death and a near death. First-degree felony murder in the District can apply when a killing occurs during certain felonies. In this case, prosecutors paired the murder charge with two cruelty to children counts. One count relates to Mazouri, and the other relates to her brother. The complaint is not a conviction. Duke is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Future hearings are expected to test the strength of medical records, police interviews, apartment photos and witness statements.
Outside the courthouse, the facts described in the filings brought anger and grief from neighbors. One parent who lives near the apartment asked, “What kind of mother would do that to a kid?” Demetria Fultz, who said she lost her own child years earlier in a bus crash, said the report of a child dying in the neighborhood was hard to hear. “As far as a child passing away, it messes with my heart,” Fultz said. She called the ages of the twins shocking and said the loss felt especially painful because the children were so young.
The surviving twin remains unnamed in public records, while Mazouri’s name is now attached to a homicide case in D.C. Superior Court. Duke remains held without bond, and the next court proceedings are expected to focus on the complaint, the medical examiner’s findings and the evidence gathered from the Southern Avenue apartment.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.