Mother prosecuted for letting daughters starve to death

A 22-year-old mother has been prosecuted for intentional homicide after she left her two young daughters at home and let them starve to death, a court said Friday.

Le Yan, who is three months pregnant, was prosecuted by a procuratorate in Nanjing City of east China's Jiangsu Province and will be put on trial soon, according to the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court.

Le's two daughters, aged two and one, were found dead in a suburban community home in Jiangning District on June 21.

Le is accused of leaving her two daughters at home in April with the door and windows shut. She never returned until she was arrested by police at a hamburger store in the district on the same day the children were found, according to local media reports.

It is likely the two girls died of dehydration and starvation, according to a legal medical examination.

Le, born out of wedlock and raised by her grandmother, ran away from home at the age of 14 and became addicted to drugs at 16, according to local media reports.

The two children's father was detained by police in February for a drug-related crime and later released.