Florida parents arrested after 'malnourished' 5-month-old twins weigh less than 6 pounds, deputies say

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Two Sanford parents are facing child neglect charges after their five-month-old twins were hospitalized for malnourishment, weighing around 5.7 pounds, charging documents say. 

What we know:

Leroy Somersall, 24, and Madison Smith, 23, were charged with two counts of child neglect with great bodily harm after their five-month-old twins – a boy and girl – were hospitalized for being severely malnourished. 

Smith took the twins to a Sanford hospital on Jan. 6. Smith told investigators one child was found unresponsive, so they drove to the hospital while she did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. 

Medical professionals told a Seminole County detective that the children were frail, had all of their bones showing with their stomach sunken in, appeared to be malnourished, were severely dehydrated and had low blood sugar. 

Both children were born premature and were admitted into the NICU when they were born. On Jan. 6, the twins weighted 2.6 kilograms, the arrest affidavit said – which is 5.7 pounds. The boy weighed less than when he was first discharged from the hospital after birth and the girl weighed slightly more. 

Smith said that she had fed her children 40 milliliters of formula every two hours and increased the feedings to 70 to 80 milliliters after speaking with the kids' pediatrician. However, the affidavit said the kids hadn't seen a pediatrician since September. 

The parents said they weren't told they needed to feed the twins more as they grew, so they continued to feed the same amount. The parents claimed the kids were thin because their father was thin, the affidavit said. 

When an investigator searched the parent's residence, they didn't find any formula or any empty containers of formula in the family's RV, the affidavit said. 

Somersall and Smith were both accused of failure to provide care, supervision and services necessary to maintain a child's physical and mental health. 

What's next:

After receiving medical intervention, both children are expected to survive, but their neurological condition is unknown, the affidavit said. Since their treatment, the babies have gained weight at the hospital.