Police said a second child was hospitalized and a mother was charged a day later.
DURHAM, N.C. — Police and emergency crews converged on a Durham home Thursday evening after officers found two small children unresponsive inside, and one child later died at a hospital, authorities said.
The incident quickly became a homicide investigation, and by Friday morning police had arrested the children’s mother, Andrea Morgan Faust, 41, charging her with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. Investigators have not released the children’s names, their ages, or what injuries they suffered. Police said the surviving child remained hospitalized as detectives continued to gather evidence and interview neighbors.
Officers responded shortly before 5:30 p.m. Thursday to a house in the 10 block of Chartwell Court, a neighborhood near N.C. 98, police said. Inside the home, officers found two young children who were unresponsive. Durham County EMS was called to assist, and both children were taken from the home to a hospital, authorities said. One child was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital, police said. As night fell, the street was closed to traffic and the neighborhood filled with flashing lights from police vehicles and ambulances while investigators marked off the area around the home.
Police said Thursday night they had identified a person of interest, but they did not release a name at that time or describe what led them to that conclusion. The next day, police announced Faust’s arrest. She was taken to the Durham County Detention Facility and held without bond, according to reports that cited law enforcement statements. Police did not describe what evidence supported the first-degree murder charge or the attempted murder charge, and they did not say whether any other person was being investigated. Authorities also did not say whether the children’s father was present during the incident or when officers arrived.
Investigators remained at the home for hours, working late into the night and into Friday morning. Forensics personnel were still on scene through about 7 a.m. Friday, collecting evidence, according to reports from the neighborhood. An SUV parked outside the home was towed away as part of the investigation, though police have not said why the vehicle was seized or what evidence they expected to find. Residents said the closure and police activity stretched late into the night, with the street blocked off past 11 p.m. while detectives worked under portable lighting near the taped-off property.
Neighbors described a stunned atmosphere on the quiet street as word spread that a child had died. One neighbor told reporters the situation was “very sad” and said they hoped investigators could determine what happened. Charlene Montford, who said she had known Faust for about 14 years, described Faust as kind and caring and said she was shocked to learn police were focused on Faust’s home. Montford said she had noticed Faust seemed under more stress after the birth of her second child and believed health challenges involving the children weighed on the family. Other neighbors told reporters the children were brothers and both were younger than 5, though police have not confirmed those details.
Officials have provided only limited public information about the surviving child’s condition, saying only that the child remained in the hospital as of Friday. Police have not specified which hospital treated the children or whether doctors alerted investigators to injuries that prompted the case to be treated as a homicide. Those details are often part of an early investigative timeline, but police have not released medical findings or a cause of death. Authorities also have not said whether they recovered any physical evidence from inside the home, including medications, household chemicals, or other items that might explain why both children were found unresponsive.
The case also drew attention to the limits agencies face in discussing families involved in child welfare matters. A spokesperson for Durham’s Department of Social Services told reporters the agency could not comment on any investigation involving a family, citing state laws that require child protective services information to be kept confidential. That restriction, common in child welfare cases, can leave the public with little information in the immediate aftermath of a child’s death. Police, meanwhile, said the criminal investigation was ongoing and declined to provide additional details when asked by reporters on Friday.
Faust was expected to appear in court next week, a step that typically begins the formal process of court oversight for a felony case, including confirming charges and addressing detention status. Police asked anyone with information to contact Durham police, including Cpl. E. Gaither, and encouraged tips through CrimeStoppers, which advertised rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to arrests in felony cases. Detectives continued working to establish a clearer timeline of events before officers arrived Thursday evening and to determine what happened inside the home in the hours leading up to the emergency call.
Author note: Last updated February 15, 2026.