The South Florida mother of 3-year-old twins who were found unresponsive inside a car on Interstate 95 could be charged with their murder, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Shirlene Alcime, 42, is currently accused of child neglect causing great bodily harm after officers responded to a medical emergency on the highway, found her children in the car and she jumped off the overpass in early February.
She survived and pleaded not guilty to the charges against her in March. Now those charges are expected to be upgraded.
"The Medical Examiner has determined that the cause of death for the victims in this case is homicide, as such, the filing of formal murder charges is pending with the Miami Dade State Attorneys Office," police said.
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MDPD later clarified that detectives still need to meet with the State Attorney’s office to determine what the charge will be and that it could range from murder, manslaughter or 2nd degree murder.
The two children, identified as Milendhet and Milendhere G. Napoleon-Cadet, were found on Feb. 2, after officers responded to a call for a medical emergency on northbound I-95 near the Florida's Turnpike extension around 2 a.m.
The twins' mother jumped off the overpass as first responders arrived at the scene.
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Footage obtained by NBC6 shows a Florida Highway Patrol trooper responding to the scene a short time later, after several Miami-Dade Police officers and fire rescue workers had already arrived.
Alcime's silver Toyota Highlander can be seen on the side of the highway with its doors open as paramedics are seen running.
Radio transmissions between law enforcement can be heard in the background.
"We have a black female that jumped off the bridge and is laying on the tracks, we're northbound 95 right before the Turnpike," says one person.
"Is she still alive?" a person asks several minutes later.
"She is," another person responds.
According to an arrest report, Alcime told investigators she'd been plotting to kill the two children and herself for the previous two months, "due to her current financial status and multiple debt(s) that she owes."
The arrest report said Alcime drove around with the twins throughout the day on Feb. 1, looking for a bridge to jump from before she finally decided on the I-95 overpass.
"The defendant admitted to contemplating jumping off the bridge with both victims or throwing them off one by one and then jumping to end their lives," the report said.
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