Investigators say the children were left in a playpen in filthy conditions for days.
WASHINGTON — A Southeast D.C. apartment where police found 13-month-old twins in a playpen, one dead and one barely alive, is now at the center of a felony murder case against their mother.
Authorities say Valencia Duke, 25, left her children alone in the apartment on the 4700 block of Southern Avenue Southeast between Jan. 14 and Jan. 18. Her daughter, Mazouri Jones, died from dehydration and malnourishment due to neglect, according to the medical examiner. Her twin brother survived after he was taken to a hospital. Duke was arrested June 3 and charged with first-degree felony murder and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children.
The apartment described in court filings was not just the place where the children were found. It was also evidence. Investigators described a home filled with food debris, laundry near the playpen, sinks holding water, baby formula with insects inside and rancid liquids. Local reports citing charging documents said police also found bags of suspected crack cocaine in the living space. Photos from the charging records showed clutter around the children’s area. Prosecutors are expected to use those details to describe the environment where the twins spent their final days together before emergency crews arrived.
The emergency response began at about 6:03 p.m. Jan. 18, when Sixth District officers were called for a report of an unconscious child. Officers found the twins inside the apartment. D.C. Fire and EMS crews pronounced Mazouri dead at the scene after finding no signs consistent with life. Her brother was alive but dehydrated and malnourished. He was transported to a local hospital, where officials said he stayed for several days. Court records said Mazouri’s body was decomposing when she was found. Authorities have not publicly said who made the emergency call.
Investigators later focused on a four-day timeline. Court records said Duke left the two children alone in her residence from Jan. 14 through Jan. 18. Local reports said she was inside the apartment with them for only about two hours over more than 92 hours. The children were 13 months old, and officials said they were left without the care needed to survive. Investigators said Duke first claimed the twins were with a babysitter, then later admitted she had left them alone for days. No babysitter has been publicly identified in the case, and police have not released a full account of Duke’s movements during that period.
The surviving boy’s condition helped show the severity of the alleged neglect. Doctors said he was hypothermic and badly malnourished, according to local reports based on court records. His ribs were visible, and he was so hungry that he tried to eat a paramedic’s stethoscope, believing it was food. Officials have not released his name or current condition. They also have not said where he was placed after leaving the hospital. Prosecutors described the case as involving both the death of one child and the near death of another, which is why Duke faces separate cruelty counts for each twin.
The official homicide ruling came on April 3, more than two months after the children were found. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Mazouri died from dehydration and malnourishment due to neglect. The manner of death was ruled homicide. Police then moved toward an arrest. On June 3, members of the Capitol Regional Fugitive Task Force located Duke and took her into custody on a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant. The next day, the Metropolitan Police Department announced the arrest, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the full set of charges.
Duke appeared in D.C. Superior Court on June 4 before Judge Heidi Hermann. The judge found probable cause and ordered Duke held without bond pending trial. During that court appearance, Duke’s attorney told the judge that Duke was pregnant. Local reports also said Duke has an older child. Officials have not released information about the older child’s placement or whether any child welfare agency had prior involvement with the family. The case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma McArthur.
Neighbors reacted with grief and anger after learning what investigators said happened in the apartment. One nearby parent asked, “What kind of mother would do that to a kid?” Another resident, Demetria Fultz, said the death was painful because she had lost her own 10-year-old son in a bus crash. “It’s heartbreaking to hear something like that that came in this neighborhood,” Fultz said. She said the twins’ ages made the allegations more difficult to process. Investigators also reported that Duke showed no emotion when she saw and learned that Mazouri had died.
The allegations remain unproven in court, and Duke is presumed innocent unless convicted. Still, the case has already established a public record with several key points: the Jan. 18 emergency call, the Southern Avenue apartment conditions, the boy’s hospitalization, the April 3 homicide ruling and the June 3 arrest. What remains unknown includes the surviving child’s current medical status, whether any prior warning signs were reported and whether prosecutors will add evidence or witnesses as the case moves through court.
Currently, Duke is being held without bond while the case proceeds. The next hearings are expected to examine the police timeline, the medical examiner’s findings and the records showing how long the twins were allegedly left alone inside the Southern Avenue apartment.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.