THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) – A 6-year-old girl died early Friday morning after she was reported unresponsive inside her Bronx NYCHA apartment, police said.
First responders were called to the home on East 165th Street in the Forest Houses complex just before 4 a.m. Jalayah Eason was found unconscious and unresponsive with bruising on her wrists and trauma to her torso, police said.
The mother told detectives her daughter went to bed around 11 p.m. Thursday, but when she went to check on Jalayah in the overnight hours, she found the child out of her bed on the floor near a closet, sources told PIX11 News.
The girl was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The medical examiner will determine her cause of death.
Two other siblings were in the apartment, and sources told PIX11 News they showed signs of abuse. Those children were placed in the custody of the Administration for Children’s Services, the sources said.
Jalayah’s two siblings, ages 8 and 3, were living in filthy and unsanitary conditions inside their apartment, according to authorities. Police had been to the apartment several times before for domestic violence, sources said.
“The safety and well-being of New York City’s children is our top priority. We are investigating this case with the NYPD,” an ACS spokesperson told PIX11 News Friday afternoon.
The girl’s mother was being questioned by police, according to law enforcement sources. Police said no arrests had been made, as of Friday evening. The investigation remains ongoing.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
