MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Little Haiti mother accused of murdering her daughter and son is behind bars Wednesday afternoon.
Police found Odette Joassaint’s children tied up inside her apartment.
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The children were bound by their ankles, wrists, and neck. The medical examiner’s office is working to figure out the cause of death but police say it was likely strangulation.
“One is Jeffrey, and one’s Laura,” said heartbroken father Frantzy Belval, as he showed us pictures of his two children: Laura, 5, and Jeffrey, 3.
The person accused of committing the heinous act? Their own mother.
“You’re a mother, what do you feel? There’s a devil inside of your head,” questions Darlene Petion, a family friend.
Joassaint, 41, is now behind bars, charged with killing her kids.
The father of two children, found dead in their Little Haiti home, holds up pictures of his children. (CBS4)
Police say she called them last night and appeared to be having a mental episode.
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“We received several calls to 911. They were calling but she wasn’t saying much,” said Miami Dade Police Officer, Michael Vega.
When Miami police went inside the apartment, they found the children tied up and unresponsive.
“The one thing she did say to officers: They’re inside. Go get them. I don’t want them,” said Vega.
Police are still investigating what led to the murders but said, it’s not the first time they’ve been to this house.
“We’ve responded there numerous times,” says Vega.
Family friends told CBS4 Joassiant and Belval were together a couple years ago, but the kids were living there with their mother.
“Sometimes she was a good mom, sometimes I don’t know,” says Petion.
Police say they’ve responded previously for trespassing, several disturbances and domestic violence, but this is the first time there’s been an incident involving children.
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CBS4 has also reached out to DCF and we are waiting to see if they have had any involvement with this family.
