Baby and toddler left for dead in freezing cold car after gunman slaughters their mother and her companion: Report

When construction workers in North Carolina arrived at work as usual last Thursday morning, they made a gruesome discovery: two adults shot dead in a vehicle and two young girls, a toddler and a newborn infant, trapped and helpless in the back seat.

According to reports, the lifeless bodies of Destiny Wiggins, 24, and a male companion, Devone Brown, 28, were discovered in a Cadillac left overnight in the parking lot of Barnhill Construction in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, about an hour east of Raleigh. The two victims were shot and killed inside the vehicle, which showed no obvious signs of forced entry. The relationship between Wiggins and Brown is unknown.

However, the deceased were not the only occupants in the vehicle. Two of Wiggins' four children, a "toddler age" little girl and her newborn sister, were both left to fend for themselves overnight, strapped in the back seat, while nighttime temperatures dipped near or perhaps even below freezing.

The little girls were transported immediately to UNC Nash Healthcare for treatment. They were reportedly "cold" but otherwise physically unharmed. They have been released from the hospital and placed in the safe care of other family members.

The investigation into the murders continues apace. Rocky Mount police have already arrested 42-year-old Eric Coley in connection with the crime and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder as well as possession of a firearm by a felon. He remains in custody in the Nash County jail and appeared in court on Monday.

CBS 17 reported that Coley said little and showed little emotion during Monday's proceedings. He faces life in prison or even the death penalty, if convicted. Any connection Coley may have had with either Wiggins or Brown remains unclear.

Wiggins' family has given the public a glimpse of the woman that Destiny was during her short life, speaking to reporters and sharing some of Destiny's story in a GoFundMe account established to raise funds for her funeral.

"Destiny is one of eight kids of my mother Donna Wiggins," sister Breanna Wiggins told reporters. "She has four children, two girls and two boys."

Destiny "loved to do hair, and she loved her babies and family," Breanna also recalled.

Little has been reported about Devone Brown, except that neither he nor Wiggins worked at the construction facility where their bodies were found. The investigation remains ongoing, and no motive for the murders has been reported.