In fentanyl deaths of twin 3-year-olds, Winnetka mother pleads no contest to child abuse

A Winnetka woman has pleaded no contest to child abuse charges in connection with the fentanyl-related deaths of her twin 3-year-old sons last year, according to court records obtained Thursday.

Jestice James, now 23, was immediately sentenced to 18 years in state prison after her no contest plea Wednesday to six felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The boys were identified in the criminal complaint as Josiah J. and Jestine J.

Records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office indicated that the toddlers died of fentanyl toxicity.

Assistant Head Deputy Jonathan Hatami said James had been using fentanyl outside her apartment and placed the unused remaining fentanyl in a colorful container inside her purse. The two boys got inside her purse while she was asleep, ingested the fentanyl and were discovered not breathing the following morning, Hatami said.

Police and paramedics responded July 11, 2024, to a home on the 20000 block of Sherman Way, near Winnetka Avenue, where the woman found her twin boys “unresponsive,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The boys were taken to a hospital, where Josiah was pronounced dead early that day and Jestine was pronounced dead three days later, according to records from the medical examiner’s office.

James was arrested that day and has remained behind bars since then.

She was initially charged with murder and child abuse, but the murder counts were dismissed as a result of her plea.

James — who had no prior felony criminal record — admitted the crime, was remorseful and waived her appellate rights, according to Hatami, who added that the twins’ grandmother, sister and other family members were fully supportive of the plea.