Horrific final moments of twin toddlers ‘killed by mom’s terrible mistake’ are revealed by distraught grandma

A grandmother has told in graphic detail how one of her twin grandsons turned blue after they both died after allegedly being exposed to their mother’s fentanyl seizure.

LaTina Allen fought back tears as she recalled performing CPR on her 3-year-old grandsons, Josiah and Jestine, also known as Jojo and Juju, on July 11.

Allen said she and her daughter, Jestice James, were in their Canoga Park, California, apartment that afternoon when she heard James screaming for help.

The eldest twin, Josiah, did not move despite James’ attempts to wake the toddler.

“She didn’t even know what was going on,” Allen said. “I heard her voice change. She kept saying, ‘Jojo! Jojo!’ When I ran into the room, she said something was wrong.”

Allen said she grabbed the boy, but Josiah had already turned blue.

“I turned around and told my cousin to call 911,” the grandmother said. “I panicked and didn’t do CPR properly, so my other daughter, Jestina, called 911.”

Allen said that in their panic they didn’t realize that the youngest twin sister, Jestice, who was only a few minutes old, also wasn’t breathing.

“We were so worried about Jojo that we didn’t realize that Juju needed help too,” Allen recalls.

Allen said their neighbors also tried to revive the twins. Paramedics who arrived about five minutes later used Narcan spray on the boys, which is used to reverse an opioid overdose.

Jestice responded to the Narcan and moved a little, but Josiah’s tiny body was lifeless, the grandmother told DailyMail.com.

“They took them all in separate ambulances and my daughter was screaming to be with her children,” Allen said. “We thought we could go with them in the ambulance, but they said, ‘No ma’am, it’s too critical. We can’t let you go with them.’

“We were just sitting downstairs in shock. Three hours later they took my daughter into custody.”

The boys were taken to a nearby hospital, but it was too late. Josiah died later that afternoon, while Jestine died two days later.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have charged 22-year-old James with two counts of murder and two counts of child abuse/child endangerment under circumstances resulting in serious bodily injury or death.

Prosecutors say the twins were exposed to drugs laced with fentanyl, but they declined to provide details about how the children came into contact with the deadly opioid.

According to family members, James’ friend was also in the apartment that day.

According to Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami, this is the first case in Los Angeles County in which a parent accused of “exposing a child to illegal fentanyl” has been charged with murder.

“The LAPD Abused Child Unit did an excellent job investigating this case,” Hatami told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. “Their investigation is ongoing, including looking into possible additional suspects.”

Hatami added that he is already working on four other possible cases where a child or children in Los Angeles County have died from fentanyl exposure in the past six months.

Allen said her daughter Jestice had “a lot of struggles” as a young mother, but she loved her twin sons.

James’ older sister, Jestina, said her sister nearly died a year and a half ago after unknowingly smoking marijuana laced with fentanyl.

Another friend smoked the fatal batch but overdosed.

“She was very sad for her boyfriend because he died and they were all smoking the same thing,” said Jestina, 26. “It was mixed and they didn’t know. None of them knew.”

“That’s what we don’t understand. She knew how dangerous this was. She would never put her children in danger.”

Court records show James was previously arrested for grand larceny and was charged in October 2022. After pleading guilty to the charge, she was placed on probation for two years, court records obtained by DailyMail.com show.

James was also issued an arrest warrant in December 2023 for organized theft of retail trade fairs.

Her family said she was initially held on a grand larceny charge on July 11, but was subsequently investigated and charged with the murders of her twin sons.

Allen says she hasn’t been able to talk to her daughter since her arrest last week.

The grandmother said she and her daughters had been homeless for eight years until they secured a spot at the city-run affordable transitional housing complex in Canoga Park, where the twins also lived.

Allen said her daughter found it difficult to raise her boys, but they always managed.

“I told her, ‘You know me. Whatever I have, they have,'” Allen said of her grandchildren. “She was applying for a job, but she had gotten into trouble, so it was hard on her. She was stealing from stores with her friends and got caught. I told her to get away from people who get you into trouble. She just got into a bad crowd.”

The grieving grandmother said she is now dealing with the tragic loss of her beloved grandsons, as well as the possibility that her daughter will spend the rest of her life in prison.

“I want people to know that she was not a bad mother,” Allen said. “She was a caring and loving mother to her children. She would never let anything happen to them.”

James, who appeared in Van Nuys District Court on Tuesday, remains in jail pending $4 million bail. She is due back in court on July 31.

During the brief hearing, James fought back tears as Allen told her from across the courtroom, “I love you.”