Honk News (Bucks County, PA) – A couple in Pennsylvania has been taken into custody following allegations that they provided their prematurely born twins with insufficient nourishment, resulting in the infants being described as “dangerously malnourished.” Each twin reportedly gained only five pounds a month after their birth.
Courtney Soyka, 32, and Marcus Maddela, 45, from Bristol Township, were arrested earlier this week and face two counts each of felony child endangerment and conspiracy, according to authorities.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office has announced that an investigation into a couple started in December 2024. This followed a referral to the Bucks County Township Police Department from the Department of Children and Youth concerning newborn twins who were born approximately two months premature.
The children were born on October 7, 2024, with weights of 4.1 and 3.7 pounds. Both infants stayed in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for treatment and observation because of their low weights, until doctors decided they were healthy enough to go home with their parents.
In the weeks that came after, the twins skipped four planned medical appointments intended to monitor their weight and confirm they were staying healthy without constant care.
Soyka returned the children to the hospital on Dec. 11, where medical staff noted that they seemed “extremely underweight for their age.”
A hospital doctor noted that the twins’ rapid weight gain during their stay, away from their parents, suggested problems related to not getting enough calories at home, as stated in the release.
According to reports, a doctor involved in the care of the child informed authorities that both twins exhibited “very poor weight gain” even though they showed no signs of illness. Officials reported that the infants showed “significant improvement” in their conditions with just routine formula feedings while in the hospital, providing further evidence of mistreatment.
The doctor mentioned that the children’s weight gain issues “might have been managed earlier if the twins had attended their follow-up appointments with their pediatrician as planned.”
Soyka and Maddela were taken to the Bucks County Correctional Facility after their arrests for processing. This week, they appeared in court before Magisterial District Judge Terrance Hughes, who established their bonds at $500,000.
