Two toddlers dead after mother ‘stabs her father and jumps from 11th floor with son’

The woman and a 70-year-old man are in critical condition

Police in Chicago have launched an investigation into the death of two toddlers after a woman reportedly grabbed her son and jumped from an 11th-floor apartment having first stabbed her father.

Officials said they were called to the apartment complex in the city’s South Shore neighborhood in the early hours.

A woman was found lying on the ground, with her one-year-old son lying near by.

In the woman’s apartment, police found a two-year-old boy lying unresponsive in the bathtub. It is believed that boy was also a son of the woman.

In addition they discovered a 70-year-old man with stab wounds to his body and face.

“The child in the bathtub appeared to be scalded from the water and he had some lacerations on his head,” said department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, according to the Chicago Tribune.

He said it appeared the younger of the two boys had been thrown from the apartment building to his death.

“Based on the positioning of the bodies and available evidence … it appears as though the baby was thrown out of the window and the woman followed,” he added. “We’re assuming something broke her fall because she survived, which is unusual after falling from that distance.”

Officials have not yet released the names of the individuals involved in the incident, which happened at around 2am on Thursday.

The newspaper said the man told officers who arrived at the scene, that his adult daughter “began stabbing him and then jumped from the 11th floor with her one-year-old-son”.

Mr Guglielmi said detectives believe the woman in her 30s is the granddaughter of the male victim, rather than his daughter. He said they also are “operating under the assumption that these are the woman’s children but need to confirm that”.

Both boys were pronounced dead at Comer Children’s Hospital, officials said. The woman and the man were both taken to the University of Chicago Medical Centre, where they are said to be in a critical condition.

Police said if and when the woman recovered, they would investigate pressing charges against her.

“From what was described to me, it’s just been a very difficult scene for detectives having to see children like this,” said Mr Guglielmi.

“It’s hard for anybody — including cops and detectives – they’re mothers and fathers, too. For anybody to have to see a child lifeless in a bathtub is exceptionally difficult.”

Additional reporting by Associated Press