Parents of dead twin in NLV being investigated

Cathy Scott

Friday, Feb. 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The parents of 2-month-old twins, one of whom has died, are being investigated by North Las Vegas Police for child neglect, possibly by starvation.

The twins, Tatyna and Tevonte Johnson, were born Nov. 30, each weighing in at just 4 pounds, 12 ounces.

Two months later, the boy, Tevonte, died. At the time of his death, he weighed even less, 4 pounds 5 ounces.

The parents, whose first names have not been released, called 911 at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and reported Tevonte was not breathing.

"They said, 'For some reason, he's not breathing,'" said Lt. Chris Larotonda of North Las Vegas Police.

Police arrived at the home, in the 2500 block of West Street, near Carey Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, and found the dead child, Larotonda said.

While detectives were in the home, they noticed that the other baby looked "distressed and was having problems breathing," Larotonda said.

Paramedics transported Tatyna to University Medical Center's intensive care unit, where she was in critical condition today.

Doctors at University Medical Center, where the twins were born, did not want to release the babies to go home with their mother after their births because the "premies" needed nursing care.

Child Protective Services, which had removed other children from the home earlier, told hospital personnel that they would monitor the children's health once a week. The mother, however, did not keep an appointment to return with the children for a checkup, a source said. The baby died the next day.

"The protocol we have established with the hospitals, if you have toxicology reports that say the baby was drug exposed, we'll intervene," said Adrienne Cox, assistant director of the Clark County Department of Family and Youth Services.

The parents have not been charged.

Larotonda said the investigation "in in a holding pattern" until test results come in.