On Thursday, July 30, 2026, two Bronx women were arraigned on murder charges in the death of a 16-year-old autistic boy who was reportedly starved to death inside a dark, filthy apartment.
Denise Jarvis, 62, and her daughter Geneva Jarvis, 36, pleaded not guilty when they appeared before a judge that day.
Both were remanded without bail and ordered to have no contact with the surviving twin brother of the victim who is now slowly regaining his strength in a rehabilitation facility.
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| Geneva Jarvis |
The teenager who died has been identified as Adonis Jarvis by law enforcement officials. He was pronounced dead at a Bronx hospital on March 19, 2026, shortly after his mother brought him and his twin brother in for medical help.
The medical examiner later ruled his death a homicide, listing the causes as malnutrition and dehydration, as per CBS News.
According to police reports, when the brothers arrived at the hospital, they both showed clear signs of chronic neglect as they were covered in bedsores and filth.
They could not walk, and both of them weighed roughly 60 pounds each. While Adonis weighed 59 pounds at the time of his death, his brother, weighed 60 pounds but after his hospital admission, he has since gained 30 pounds while receiving care.
The family lived on the third-floor of an apartment on East 147th Street in Mott Haven and according to prosecutors, the living conditions inside was horrible.
The twins, who were nonverbal autistic teenagers, had been left lying in the same position since at least January, 2026. They were unable to move on their own, so they were reportedly covered with flies and garbage around them.
Additionally, the apartment had no electricity, and investigators said the boys were essentially abandoned in that state while the two women kept the outside world at a distance.
“It's filled with garbage and clothes all over the place, I told her I wanted to go in the apartment to fix it, she kept saying ‘OK tomorrow’ and she never let us in,” said the building superintendent, who tried repeatedly to enter the apartment to make repairs.
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| Denise Jarvis |
Neighbors on East 147th Street told reporters they rarely saw the boys and never imagined something so severe was happening, as per ABC 7 News.
One woman who lives nearby said she hadn’t seen the twins in about a year and described the family as ordinary. “I say hi to them, they say hi. But for me, they were normal persons, two special kids and that's it,” she recalled.
According to her, whenever she inquired about the children, the women would respond, “Oh no, they're okay.”
Another neighbor, Veronica Rosales, said it had been three years since she last saw the boys. “It's sad because the mother is supposed to be the one to protect them. They take care of them,” Rosales said.
“I hear them and then like after three, the two years before it, this thing happened. I don't hear anymore. Maybe vacation or something, but maybe they were sick,” she added.
A spokesperson for the Administration for Children’s Services confirmed the agency is investigating alongside the NYPD.
“The safety and well-being of New York City's children is our top priority,” the spokesperson said. “We are investigating this tragic incident.”
Attorneys for both Denise Jarvis and Geneva Jarvis declined to comment following the arraignment, while the two women remain in custody as the case moves forward.
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