Inset: Amaya Dixon (Richmond Police Department). Background: The area in Virginia where Dixon allegedly drowned her twin 17-month-old sons (Google Maps).
A 21-year-old mother in Virginia is accused of killing her twin 17-month-old sons, allegedly drowning the toddlers in the bathtub last month.
Amaya Dixon was taken into custody Thursday after a grand jury indicted her on two counts of felony murder and two counts of child neglect in the deaths of her boys, court records show.
The charges follow a weeks-long investigation into the incident that left both toddlers dead after police pulled them from the water in an apartment on the city's south side, according to law enforcement.
Officers with the Richmond Police Department responded to a report of two injured children at an apartment in the 1000 block of German School Road at approximately 8:39 p.m. on April 17, according to a report from local CBS affiliate WTVR.
Upon arriving, first responders located the 17-month-old twins suffering from what investigators described as "apparent drowning injuries while in a bathtub."
Emergency medical personnel rushed the children to a local hospital for treatment, but neither survived. One of the boys was pronounced dead that same night while his sibling survived for several hours before succumbing to his injuries the following day, the Augusta Free Press reported.
While detectives have not yet released a motive for the alleged killings, court records obtained by local ABC affiliate WRIC reveal that Dixon was already facing a slew of pending criminal charges in neighboring Chesterfield County at the time she allegedly killed her sons.
In December 2025, Dixon was charged with a series of financial and property crimes. Those charges include credit card theft, grand larceny, and criminally receiving goods or services through fraud. She was also accused of financially exploiting vulnerable adults and possessing stolen property with the intent to sell.
The Richmond Police Department's Major Crimes Unit is handling the investigation into the twins' deaths, which remains ongoing.
Authorities have not provided additional details regarding the circumstances leading up to the drowning or whether anyone else was in the residence at the time of the incident.
Police are urging anyone with information that may be relevant to the case to contact Major Crimes Detective J. Pittman at (804) 646-3869 or submit an anonymous tip through the P3 app or Crime Stoppers.
Follow Law&Crime:
Comments