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Murrieta Mom Arrested For Allegedly Starving, Beating Twin 3-Year-Old Sons

MURRIETA (CBSLA.com) — A 24-year-old Murrieta mother was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of abusing her twin 3-year-old sons, police said.

Courtney Lynn Stewart was arrested by detectives from the Murrieta Police Department around 10 a.m. on suspicion of willful harm or injury to a child and corporal punishment or injury to a child, acording to Murrieta Police Sgt. Phil Gomez.

An investigation was launched earlier this month after police were dispatched to Rancho Springs Hospital regarding a 3-year-old boy who was brought into the ER in critical condition, said Gomez.

The hospital staff noted several suspicious bruises on the child - who investigators say weighed less than 15 pounds - as well as a severe case of malnutrition, according to Gomez.

The child was immediately transported to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, where he was admitted into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He currently remains hospitalized, Gomez said.

Investigators visited Stewart's home on Nov. 7 and found another 3-year-old boy who appeared to be suffering from the same malnutrition as the child in the hospital, according to Gomez. The boy was later determined to be his twin brother.

Riverside County Child Protective Services took custody of the twin brother and transported him to the hospital for treatment and examination, which revealed a severe case of nutritional and medical neglect as well as a fractured jaw, said Gomez.

Stewart was located this morning at a Lake Elsinore address, where she was arrested without incident.

She was later booked at the Southwest Detection Center. A bail amount was unknown.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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