POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida mother is facing a serious charge, one week after her two children died in an apartment fire.
Twenty-two-year-old Jeny Melendez-Ramirez was taken into custody on Friday and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
According to police, Melendez-Ramirez left her 5-year-old and 5-month-old daughters in the care of their 16-year-old aunt at the Banyan Club Apartments in Pompano Beach, Oct. 13.
Investigators said the teenage aunt left the two young girls home alone when she went to Walmart to buy food. The apartment somehow caught fire, claiming the lives of the children.
A judge ordered Melendez-Ramirez to wear a GPS monitor and to refrain from any contact with her family.
Police said the teen who was left watching the children is now in state custody.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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