CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — Investigators say alcohol played a role in the case of a father accused of leaving his twin daughters to die in a hot car.
Police say they think Asa North may have been drinking Thursday afternoon and accidentally left the girls in the back of his Nissan Murano for hours.
[ Asa North faced a judge for the first time Friday ]
in the deaths of Ariel and Alaynah North.
North had his head down the whole time while he stood in front of a Carroll County judge.
The judge said since the charges are so serious, and since Asa North has been arrested six times before, he was denied bond.
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North’s family members cried throughout the entire first appearance hearing.
Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with Asa North’s aunt, Audrey North, as the family left the courtroom.
“I can tell people that he loved his babies. He was very proud of them from the day they was born, they was a pound apiece,” Audrey North said.
His aunt said the deaths of Ariel and Alaynah were huge mistakes. Fernandes asked her about Asa North's drinking habits
“He drinks, but you know he’s aware of what’s going on, but all we know to do right now is to pray,” Audrey North said. %
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Channel 2’s Richard Elliot was at the Carrollton Police Department Friday morning when officers walked a handcuffed Asa North from their headquarters to a waiting cruiser as they prepared to transport him over to the Carroll County Jail
Elliot went back to the neighborhood where the incident happened and spoke with a family friend.
“They taking it hard right now,” Donnie Holland said about the family.
Holland said after discovering the infants in the back of the SUV, neighbors tried to revive the little girls by putting them in a wading pool and using ice packs but it wasn't enough to save them.
They died later at a nearby hospital.
“I'm taking it rough man. I usually, the kids with her now, you know. They angels. They going to be angels. I miss them,” Holland said.
The girls' mother, Breal Ellis, was in Atlanta visiting a family member injured in a car accident.
Holland said the deaths are rough on everyone.
“The little girls, oh, I love them. They my sweethearts. I mean, I see them and play with them all the time, man, and you know, Breal's got some pretty babies. They dolls, man. They like dolls, man,” Holland said.
Asa North was charged with two counts of manslaughter and reckless conduct.