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She told the police, "I do not want them."
By L Reed — Written on Apr 28, 2021
On Thursday, April 22, the bodies of 6-week-old twins were found at their home in Queens, NY. Their mother Danezja Kilpatrick, 23, admitted to murdering them.
Kilpatrick was a single mother to infant twins, a boy named Dallis and a girl named Dakota. Kilpatrick had recently moved from Yonkers to Queens. Her sister, Quanteya Kilpatrick, visited as often as she could to help.
On the day of the murder, Quanteya came over for a visit. When she arrived, she had a feeling something was wrong — the babies weren't there and neither were their things.
Kilpatrick told her sister that the babies were with their father and rushed her out.
Kilpatrick’s cousin, Keywona Llanos, called 911 after having an unsettling conversation with her four days later.
When the police arrived at Woodside Houses, the building the family lived in, Kilpatrick was sitting on a bed inside the home.
All the young mother said was, “I do not want them.”
Kilpatrick had been in the apartment for four days since she murdered her twins.
Dakota was found in a garbage bag under the sink wrapped in her pink blanket and Dallas was face down in his bassinet with a knife in his neck.
Why would a mother kill her 6-week old twins?
After her arrest, Kilpatrick told police, “The babies wouldn’t let me sleep.” Quanteya told NY Daily News that her sister always struggled with mental illness but never saw signs of it when she was with her children.
The Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz weighed in on this awful crime.
“This is a tragic, heart-wrenching case. Two babies are dead and their mother charged with doing the unthinkable. This should have been a joyous time for this family. Instead, the babies’ relatives are mourning the deaths.”
On Monday, April 26, outside of Woodside Houses, there was a candlelight vigil to honor their short lives.
This story echoes the tragedies of other mothers suffering from mental illness who did not get enough support or did not know to reach out for help.
Natalie, a fellow resident of Woodside Houses, believes Kilpatrick was suffering from postpartum depression.
“Postpartum depression really is real for us women; a lot of people don’t understand that it is a big thing. My child is now 3 years old, and I went through it with my own situation. But I had help because I asked for help. Some people ask for help and some don’t, but I am sympathetic to whatever she was going through.”
Kilpatrick was arraigned the following Saturday and will be charged with two counts each of first and second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Leeann Reed is a writer who covers news, pop culture, and love, and relationship topics.