Houston dad charged with capital murder in the deaths of his infant twin daughters

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Fernando Vega is facing capital murder charges, accused of killing his own newborn daughters.

It was October 2023 when the 6-week-old twin girls, Massail and Mirena, were found dead in the family's southeast Houston home on Linden Creek Lane.

Prosecutors say Vega, 22, was the last person to see the babies alive. While it took more than a year to add these capital murder charges, the state is confident they'll be able to prove their case.

Vega appeared emotionless as he went before the judge on Wednesday morning.

Investigators say Vega's premature twin baby girls died from blunt force traumas. They say the infants had contusions and bruising on their bodies, and they were malnourished.

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The newborns were found dead in the home Vega shared with the mother of the children back in October 2023. Vega was just charged with capital murder last week. When asked why there was such a long delay, prosecutors say they needed time to investigate thoroughly.

"These injuries are pretty severe and based on the symptoms and the injuries, he was the only person who was around these children, the only person who could have possibly inflicted these injuries," prosecutor Edward Appelbaum said.

"He's not guilty, under the law he's innocent at this time," said defense attorney Mario Madrid. "We still have a long investigation to go and a lot of evidence to review."

Vega's bond is set at $3 million.

The mother of these children is also facing criminal charges. Angelina Calderon has been charged with injury to a child. Prosecutors did not rule out the possibility that her charges could potentially also be upgraded to capital murder.