DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines woman is being held in the Polk County Jail after police say she made a video of herself smacking her twin babies in their faces.
Naria Bowens, 23, is charged with two counts of child endangerment — both aggravated misdemeanors. She was booked into the jail early Monday morning.
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Sgt. Paul Parizek with the Des Moines Police Department said the investigation into the incident began on January 11, after the video was e-mailed to him. The criminal complaint said the video had been circulating on social media and showed an adult female “holding a camera and smacking both babies across the face.”
Investigators were able to identify Bowens as the woman and the complaint said she admitted to making the video. She told detectives she sent the video to the babies’ father about a year ago during a time of mental crisis.
Police said the video is believed to have been filmed between January and March of 2023 when the babies were three to five months old.