Newborn Twins 'Dangerously Malnourished', Croydon Parents Charged: DA

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A Croydon couple faces child endangerment charges in the neglect of their newborn premature twins, who authorities say were malnourished after the parents missed numerous doctor appointments.

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office said that Courtney Soyka and Marcus Maddela missed four scheduled doctor appointments for the newborn twins, who were born in October at 32 weeks, failing to provide the necessary follow-up care for them and feeding them so little that they became "dangerously malnourished."

The medical appointments they missed were meant for regular weight checks since the twins were born so prematurely.

Soyka, 32, and Maddela, 45, were arraigned Thursday before District Judge Terrance Hughes on two counts each of felony child endangerment and conspiracy. They were both sent to Bucks County Prison on $500,000 bail each with 10 percent.

Bristol Township Police received a child welfare referral from Bucks County Children and Youth for the twins in December. When the parents showed up for a pediatric appointment on Dec. 11, they were immediately brought to St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia, authorities said.

The hospital's doctor found the twins appeared to be malnourished based on their body weights, which were under the first percentile on the growth chart, meaning they were smaller than 99 percent of other babies the same size and gender, the complaint states.

One of them weighed 4.16 pounds at birth and weighed only 5.78 pounds when they returned to the hospital two months later in December. The other twin weighed 3.74 pounds at birth and 5.04 pounds when they returned in December, authorities said.

After three days of care, the twins were able to gain weight at a much higher average at the hospital than when they were with their parents.

A St. Christopher’s doctor said that indicated that was consistent with insufficient caloric intake at home.

A doctor also indicated that both twins presented with “very poor weight gain” with no other symptoms of illness, and their conditions were able to improve significantly with only routine formula feedings by mouth at the hospital.

The doctor said that the insufficient weight gain could have been addressed sooner if the twins had been taken to their follow-up appointments with their pediatrician as scheduled.

The babies were born on Oct. 7 and held in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) until they were healthy enough to be released to their parents.