Tears shed in Woodside at vigil for twin
babies allegedly murdered by mother
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.10 COM | APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2021
ering flames and reflected on the last
number of days and the few times she
had seen Kilpatrick with the twins
while taking her own son to school.
Natalie described the mother as seeming
merely tired.
She told Schneps Media that she
believes Kilpatrick suffered from
postpartum depression, since she too
experienced the disorder after giving
birth.
“Postpartum depression really is
real for us women; a lot of people don’t
understand that it is a big thing. My
child is now 3 years old, and I went
through it with my own situation. But I
had help because I asked for help. Some
people ask for help and some don’t, but
I am sympathetic of whatever she was
going through,” Nataile said after the
vigil.
Kilpatrick faces a maximum
sentence of life without parole if
convicted.
BY DEAN MOSES
They never had a chance to know
Dallis or Dakota Bentley, or see them
grow up in their corner of Woodside.
The twin babies were just 46 days old
when the person who gave them life allegedly
took it from them.
Woodside residents continue to
reel from the horrific murders of the
Bentley twins, who were found dead
at the Woodside Houses on 51st Street
on the afternoon of April 22. On April
26, community members gathered
outside the public housing complex
to mourn their deaths with a candlelight
vigil.
The twins’ mother, 23-year-old
Danezja Kilpatrick, currently faces
first- and second-degree murder charges
in connection with the shocking
murder. She’s currently being held in
jail without bail, and was ordered to
undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
After the news of the heart-wrenching
April 22 discovery spread, a shrine
to the newborns popped up just outside
of NYCHA complex.
Before the vigil even began, passersby
could not help but look upon the
collection of candles, signs and stuffed
animals with shaking heads and
heavy hearts, some even commenting
to themselves, “All she had to do was
bring them to me.”
The April 26 vigil was led by Reverend
Oswald Denis and joined by state
Attorney General Letitia James, NYPD
Housing PSA 9 Captain Christopher Giambrone,
President of Woodside Houses
Tenants Association Annie Cotton
Morris and community members.
Beginning with a prayer and surrounded
by a circle of those clutching
candles and the strings of balloons,
Denis’ eyes welled up as he repeated
the twins’ names.
James also spoke, telling the gathering
that she could not get the babies
out of her mind.
“We should not grieve alone; we
have to grieve together as a community.
But I also know that God loves
the little babies. He loves the little children,
and he loves twins in particular
— two hearts that beat as one, two
hearts that were born, and now two
hearts that have gone on to be with our
lord and savior,” James said.
Attendees wiped away tears from
their eyes as speakers memorialized
the newborns. Saying their final farewell,
the mourners released balloons
into the night sky as they spoke the
babies’ names.
After the vigil, some took a knee beside
the shrine and said silent prayers.
Natalie, a fellow resident of Woodside
Houses, kneeled beside the flick-
Woodside residents cry during the vigil on Monday, April 26.
Photos by Dean Moses