'I am hurting more than I ever imagined possible': Mother defends husband who left twin babies to die in hot car after forgetting they were there

'He is a good person, and a great father, and I know he would’ve never done anything to hurt our children intentionally'

The mother of twins who died after being left in a hot New York City car by their father has pleaded for leniency for her husband, just two days after their tragic deaths.

Marissa Rodriguez called the death of her two children “my absolute worst nightmare”, and asked that the courts not add to the tragedy by taking away her husband, Juan Rodriguez, too.

“Though I am hurting more than I ever imagined possible, I still love my husband,” Ms Rodriguez said in a statement released by her lawyer over the weekend. “He is a good person, and a great father, and I know he would’ve never done anything to hurt our children intentionally.”

Juan Rodrigues with his two twins, Phoenix and Luna, in a photo posted online (Facebook)

Mr Rodriguez, 39, was arrested on Friday and charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, and has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

In court on Saturday, Mr Rodriguez, a National Guardsman who was deployed to the Middle East, was seen wearing the same teal polo shirt he wore to his job at the James J Peters VA Medical Centre just one day earlier.

The social worker told officials that he believed he had dropped 1-year-old twins Phoenix and Luna off at daycare before the drive to his job in the Bronx. The reality was that he had forgotten them in the back seat of his silver Honda Accord for nearly eight hours.

He did not realise his mistake until he left his job and began driving. He stopped on a Bronx street just after 4 pm, hysterical, and passers-by called for medical care, according to police. The coroner later registered the internal temperature of the children at 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 Celsius).

“I blanked out,” Mr Rodriguez said, sobbing. “My babies are dead. I killed my babies.”

Phoenix Rodriguez and Luna Rodriguez (Instagram)

Mr Rodriguez is a captain in the New York Army National Guard, where he was assigned to the medical command, a spokesperson for the National Guard confirmed to The Independent. He was deployed to Kuwait from October 2016 until March 2017.

It was not immediately clear what might have contributed to the tragedy on Friday that has now irrevocably changed the life of the family that lives in New City, New York, about an hour’s drive north of New York City.

But, neighbours described Mr Rodriguez as a doting father, and one devoted to all five of his children, including the twins.

His social media accounts appear to support that claim, showing the father nuzzling up with his children.

One neighbour, David Maayani, told the New York Times that Mr Rodriguez had recently celebrated the birthdays of the twins with an extravagant party that included all the fixings from balloons to an inflatable bouncy castle.

“No one throws a party like that who doesn’t love their kids,” Mr Maayani told the newspaper, describing the festivities at the two-storey house that has a large fenced-in backyard, a swing set and three yellow slides.

Another neighbour, Temple Barros, told the New York Post that Mr Rodriguez’s normal morning routine included dropping off the two children at childcare before heading to work.

“This was just a horrible mistake. That one time you make a mistake and you have to live with it for the rest of your life,” another neighbour, Tony Caterino, told that paper. “They were a great family. Always doing things with the kids, always in the yard playing.”

The deaths came just days after a heatwave swept through the northeast US, prompting New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services to warn parents not to leave their kids in cars. There are an average of 38 children who die from heatstroke in the United States each year after being left in cars, according to kidsincars.org.

Mr Rodriguez’s lawyer, Joey Jackson, is a senior analyst at CNN who told that network that he had mutual friends with his client and described the veteran as the “dad of all dads, father of all fathers.”

“He has five kids — now three — and everyone is just beside themselves,” Mr Jackson said.

“Please hold Juan Rodriguez and his family up in prayer,” Mr Jackson later tweeted. “If prayer doesn’t work for you, perhaps just a positive thought will do. This is an unimaginable tragedy that has shaken this beautiful family deeply.”

Mr Rodriguez’s bail was set at $100,000, and the Bronx District attorney said he had posted a $50,000 cash bond.

At his hearing on Saturday, Ms Rodriguez wore black and brought their surviving 4-year-old child with her.

Mr Rodriguez’s mother, Cathelina Valerio, could be heard crying out at one point for her two grandchildren while clutching a male family member.

“Mis nietos! Mis nietos!” Ms Valerio said, according to the New York Post.

She later said she now believes her son is the one who needs help.

“Do you know what I’m scared of?” she said. “When he gets out, he can’t handle it. He’s going to need help.”