Mother pleads not guilty in deaths of toddlers found unresponsive in van

MIAMI - The mother of twins who were found unresponsive in a silver van on an I-95 ramp to the Turnpike Extension in February made a court appearance on Friday. Shirlene Alcime, 43, pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Miami-Dade Police said they received a call on Feb. 2 around 2 a.m. about a child who was unresponsive in a vehicle on a ramp in the Golden Glades interchange. Shortly afterward, they received another call that a second child was unresponsive.

When officers arrived, they found the unresponsive children in the back seat of the van. When they approached Alcime , she went over the ramp railing and fell to the railroad tracks below in a failed suicide attempt, according to investigators.

The children, a 3-year-old boy and girl who were fraternal twins, were taken to a nearby hospital and did not survive.

At the time, Alcime's husband, Milson Cadet, said he had no idea what happened. He said he went to work, and when he came home his wife and his children, Milendhere Gabriel Napoleon Cadet and Milenjhit Gabriella Napoleon Cadet, were not there. He said he checked their office and they weren't there. When he called her phone, he said she never picked up.

Cadet said his wife had "no problems mentally," worked full-time and has run her own tax business for seven years.