Father on manslaughter charge as twins die in hot car

A father has been arrested after the deaths of 15-month-old twin girls found in a hot car outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Asa North, 24, of Carrollton, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct.

Someone discovered the twins unresponsive in the back seat of an SUV parked in front of a residential building in Carrollton on Thursday night, said police.

“The neighbours heard some screaming — I guess coming from the father — and saw him running around back with the two children,” said Captain Chris Dobbs, of Carrollton police.

Officers found people holding the girls in a nearby baby pool, trying to cool them off, with some using ice packs.

“Actually one of the neighbours got some ice packs out of the freezer and carried it out there,” said Captain Dobbs.

The twins were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Police said the mother was in Atlanta at the time.

The deaths of the twins come as prosecutors in another part of Atlanta prepare for the murder trial of Justin Ross Harris, 35.

Harris is accused of intentionally leaving his toddler son to die in a hot SUV for about seven hours on June 18, 2014.

His trial was recently moved to the coastal Georgia city of Brunswick after a judge in the case agreed with defence lawyers that an impartial jury could not be found anywhere in the Atlanta area.