Both father and daughter were arraigned last week in a gruesome and chilling story of alleged incest, shame and murder in West New York.
Jose Julio Ventura, 44, was arrested last Thursday and identified as the father of the two babies his daughter, Lucila Ventura, bore and then allegedly threw out the bathroom window of their apartment on 64th Street.
She was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault of Baby Boy Ventura, born last Tuesday, and murder of a baby girl born a little more than a year ago.
She delivered both infants alone and then, police said, threw each one down the 31-foot air shaft. Only the boy survived the fall, landing on a pile of discarded cigarette boxes.
Jose Ventura was charged with sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse, Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory said.
If convicted on all counts, Jose Ventura could face 18 to 35 years in jail, Gregory said. He is currently in the Hudson County jail pending a $500,000 cash bail.
Lucila Ventura, 18, was brought into the court for her arraignment at 2 p.m., a few hours after her father was arraigned via video link from the Hudson County jail.
Lucila Ventura confessed to being the mother of both babies - the boy who was found on Tuesday and the girl, whose mummified remains were found last Wednesday - and she also confessed to hurling them out the window, authorities said.
Ventura will be charged as an adult for the attempted murder of the boy. She will be charged as a juvenile for the murder of the girl, an incident that occurred when she was 17 years old or younger.
If found guilty on all charges, Lucila could serve more than 30 years in prison.
Lucila Ventura wavered when it came to identifying their father, according to Gregory.
Originally she told investigators with the Division of Youth and Family Services that two different young men were the fathers of her two babies, Gregory said.
But last Thursday night, she identified her father, Jose, as the father of both, Gregory said, noting that DNA tests will be used to confirm these charges.
Lucila Ventura's lawyer, Anthony Fusco, has said that his client will plead not guilty on all counts and that Lucila is just as much a victim as she is a defendant in the murder case.
Fusco said it is possible she will plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
Both father and daughter are citizens of El Salvador and legal resident aliens in the United States. If both are found guilty, they could serve their jail time here and then be deported to El Salvador.
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