Newborns' deaths ruled homicides

CHICAGO -- Two newborn twin boys found in a trash bin were asphyxiated and their deaths have been ruled homicides by the Cook County medical examiner's office, officials said.

The boys' bodies were found by a garbage collector Friday morning in the Stickney Township southwest of Chicago.

Authorities continue to investigate.

A neighbor told police she dumped her garbage Thursday night and didn't see anything unusual, suggesting the babies might have been abandoned between then and when they were found Friday morning.

Cook County Sheriff's spokeswoman Penny Mateck said the boys were white fraternal twins who had been full-term.

Mateck said authorities have expanded the area they are canvassing.