Police say they are searching for a motive nearly four months after a Bronx mother allegedly killed her two young twins late last year.
George and Gianna Kantanka, 5, were found dead on Dec. 18, 2023 inside their Mount Hope apartment. Their mother, 42-year-old Gloria Asamoah, initially called police claiming she had found them unconscious and foaming at their mouths inside their residence shortly before 11:20 a.m. that day.
According to police, the mother — who was home alone at the time while her husband was at work — claimed she had last seen her children alive around 5 a.m. yet when she went to check them that morning they were cold to the touch. Police had also been told the children had been suffering from a recent illness.
But following an extensive investigation and autopsies conducted by the city’s medical examiner, detectives now believe both children had been murdered, allegedly by their own mother.
“This is one of those cases why we always say that information is preliminary and subject to change because March 13, approximately 10 weeks later, an autopsy reveals that both kids’ cause of death was asphyxia, meaning that they were choked,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at an April 9 press briefing.
What continues to baffle detectives is the question of motive. Neighbors told police that Asamoah was a loving and doting mother; there were no immediate signs of neglect in the home, and the family’s refrigerator was fully stocked.
