In an emotional public plea, the mother of the twins who died in a hot car on Friday in the Bronx says she still loves her husband and is standing by him. “He is a good person and great father and I know he would’ve never done anything to hurt our children intentionally,” mom Marissa Rodriguez said about her husband, Juan Rodriguez.
On Friday, Juan dropped off the couple’s older child at a home daycare in Westchester, NY and then proceeded to go to his office with their one-year-old twins, Luna and Phoenix, in the backseat. He forgot to drop them off at their daycare, and instead drove to his office at the VA Medical Center in the Bronx.
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The twins were left in their rear-facing car seats during his eight-hour shift. According to NBC 4, Juan went into work around 8 a.m. and did not return to his car until 4 p.m. He began driving home and then realized that he had forgotten his children were in the backseat. He pulled over and called 911 immediately, according to ABC 7.
Police arrived at the scene and found the twins unresponsive. Their body temperatures were 108 degrees.
According to the New York Post, Juan told police, “I assumed I dropped them off at daycare before I went to work. I blanked out! My babies are dead! I killed my babies!”
Juan has been charged with two counts of manslaughter and two counts of negligent homicide. He was released on bond over the weekend after pleading Not Guilty.
Despite the tragic accident, his family and wife are standing by him. “I will never get over this loss and I know he will never forgive himself for this mistake,” Marissa told NBC 4. “This was a horrific accident, and I need him by my side to go through this together.”
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