Police Questioning Woman In Death Of 4-Year-Old Boy
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police are questioning a 37-year-old woman after the death of a child in her care in Midtown Manhattan.
Police responded to a 911 call at a building on West 48th Street shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday. The officers found a 4-year-old boy unconscious and unresponsive.
The child was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital.
Police Questioning Woman In Death Of 4-Year-Old Boy
The woman who was taking care of the boy told police she had put him on the bathroom counter and left the room briefly. Police say the woman told them the boy fell off the counter and landed in the empty bathtub.
Law enforcement sources, however, told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman that officers were immediately suspicious of the woman's story. The boy had bruises, burns and other marks on his body, possibly signs of abuse, sources said.
It's not clear if the woman is related to the boy. Authorities say the boy had been staying with her after his mother lost custody and his father was jailed.
Police Questioning Woman In Death Of 4-Year-Old Boy
Residents in the luxury apartment building told 1010 WINS' Holli Haerr they were surprised to hear of the tragic death.
"If it was my baby I would be obviously devastated. It's something -- those things shouldn't be happening," Axel told Haerr. "That's really shocking."
The medical examiner's office will determine the child's cause of death. His name was not immediately released.
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