Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
A couple from Bristol Township’s Croydon section came before a judge Thursday on accusations they did not provide adequate nutrition and care to their premature newborn twins.
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Courtney Soyka, 33, pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of child endangerment, and her boyfriend , Marcus Maddela, 45, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges in late October.
Soyka was sentenced by Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Raymond McHugh to a sentence of one year less a day to two years less a day and Maddela was sentenced to eight to 23 months in the Bucks County Correctional Facility, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges stemmed from a December 2024 investigation that began after the couple repeatedly missed critical medical appointments for the newborns.
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The twins were born prematurely at 32 weeks on Oct. 7, 2024, and required regular weight monitoring following their release from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), authorities said.
On Dec. 11, 2024, the parents brought the infants back to the hospital after they had each missed four scheduled follow-up visits.
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Doctors found the twins to be dangerously malnourished, with their weight falling below the first percentile for their age, authorities said.
Prosecutors said one twin, who was born at 4.16 pounds, weighed only 5.78 pounds two months later, and the second twin, who weighed 3.74 pounds at birth, weighed 5.04 pounds in December.
The infants were immediately transferred to St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia.
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Doctors there noted, according to Bristol Township police, that the twins presented with “very poor weight gain” but no other signs of illness.
A hospital doctor confirmed the poor weight gain was consistent with insufficient caloric intake at home, noting it could have been addressed sooner had the couple attended the scheduled appointments, authorities said.
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The twins’ condition improved dramatically in the hospital.
After just three days of routine formula feedings by mouth, they began gaining weight at an average rate much higher than when they were under their parents’ care.
At sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Bridget Murphy described the case as “extremely disturbing.”
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