The homicide finding came months after twins were found in a Southern Avenue apartment.
WASHINGTON — A medical examiner’s finding that a 13-month-old girl died from dehydration and malnourishment helped turn a January child death call into a June felony murder case against the child’s mother, authorities said.
Valencia Duke, 25, of the District of Columbia, was arrested June 3 in connection with the death of her daughter, Mazouri Jones, and the near death of Mazouri’s twin brother. She is charged with first-degree felony murder and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children. Officials said Duke left the twins alone in a Southeast Washington apartment between Jan. 14 and Jan. 18. Mazouri was dead when officers arrived, and her brother was hospitalized.
The official turn in the case came April 3, when the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Mazouri’s cause of death was dehydration and malnourishment due to neglect. The office ruled the manner of death a homicide. That finding did not come on the day police found the children. It followed an autopsy and medical review that connected the girl’s death to lack of food, water and care. After that ruling, detectives continued the investigation, obtained an arrest warrant through D.C. Superior Court and worked with the Capitol Regional Fugitive Task Force to locate Duke.
Police said the first response happened on a Sunday evening, Jan. 18, at about 6:03 p.m. Sixth District officers were sent to the 4700 block of Southern Avenue Southeast for a report of an unconscious child. Inside the apartment, they found a 13-month-old girl and a 13-month-old boy. D.C. Fire and EMS crews responded and pronounced the girl dead after finding no signs consistent with life. Her brother was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Authorities later identified the girl as Mazouri Jones of Southeast Washington. The boy’s name has not been made public.
Court records said the boy was severely dehydrated and malnourished, while Mazouri’s body was decomposing. Local reports citing charging documents said the twins were in a playpen. The documents also said Duke was present in the apartment with the children for only about two hours over a period of more than 92 hours. Investigators said she initially told police a babysitter had been watching the children. They said she later admitted leaving them home alone for days. Authorities have not publicly identified any babysitter, and the charging records described the children as unattended during the period under investigation.
The medical details described in court records added weight to the neglect allegations. The surviving boy was reported to have hypothermia, visible ribs and signs of extreme hunger when he reached medical care. One account from doctors said he tried to eat a paramedic’s stethoscope because he appeared to think it was food. Prosecutors have not released his current condition, and police have not said whether he suffered lasting injuries. Still, the government described his condition as a near death. That language appeared in the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement of the charges and is part of why Duke faces two cruelty counts.
The scene inside the apartment also became part of the investigation. Photos described in local reporting showed a cluttered home with food debris, laundry near the children’s playpen, sinks filled with water, baby formula with insects inside and rancid liquids. Investigators also reported bags of suspected crack cocaine in the living space. Those details may help prosecutors show not only that the children were left alone, but also the conditions in which they were left. The presence of suspected drugs has been reported from court documents, but officials have not announced separate drug charges tied to the apartment findings.
The arrest brought the case into public court for the first time in June. Duke appeared before Superior Court Judge Heidi Hermann on June 4. The judge found probable cause that Duke committed the charged offenses and ordered her held without bond pending trial. Duke’s attorney told the court that Duke was pregnant. Local reports also said she has an older child. The court record available from official announcements does not say what arrangements were made for that child or for the surviving twin. Prosecutors have not said whether any other adults could face charges.
The D.C. case is being handled by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma McArthur. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the charges along with Interim Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll. In the District, local felony cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The complaint against Duke remains an allegation. Prosecutors must still prove the case in court, and Duke has the right to challenge the evidence, including statements, medical findings, apartment photos and any witness accounts.
The case has also drawn reaction from people who live near Southern Avenue. One parent in the neighborhood asked how anyone could leave children alone in those conditions. Demetria Fultz, a resident who said her own son died in a bus crash four years earlier, said the death of a child so close to home was heartbreaking. “The ages alone is just shocking and just terrifying,” Fultz said. Local reports also cited investigators as saying Duke showed no emotion when she saw and learned that her daughter had died, a detail that prosecutors may raise as they present the case.
Duke remains held without bond as the case continues in D.C. Superior Court. The next stage is expected to center on the medical examiner’s homicide ruling, the timeline of the mother’s alleged absence and the condition of the apartment where the twins were found.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.