Baby's cause of death revealed as family say the puppy originally blamed for her killing has not been put down
'Our baby died of SIDS, from sudden infant death syndrome,' the baby's stepfather, who wanted to be identified as Christopher, told The New York Post.
'She also had medical issues. She had a heart murmur. The dog did eat the baby's face. It was put down,' he added.
However, the Animal Care Centers of NYC confirmed to The Independent Friday that the pet dog was still alive, three days after the horror incident unfolded at the Queensbridge Houses complex in Long Island City.
'Sudden infant death syndrome' or SIDS is sometimes known more commonly as cot death. It is the sudden, unexpected, and unexplained death of an apparently healthy baby.
When police arrived at the family's home on Tuesday morning, the girl's mother, Lillian Burton, reportedly told cops Kiyanna had been sleeping between her and her partner when they woke up to find the dog gnawing at her face.
Police found Kiyanna unconscious with 'a substantial portion' of her face bitten off.
In an interview Thursday with The Post, the baby's mother protested: 'I did not kill my child.'
'Our baby was alive when we all went to sleep. That is the last thing we know,' the stepfather said.
The pair stated that they had only purchased Bella, the small pup, two weeks prior to the tragic incident.
'We think that the dog is so young that it didn't understand, but it was trying to help the baby because it only targeted the mouth and the nose,' Christopher said.
'We think maybe the baby was gasping for air and the puppy didn't realize it was a part of her, so the puppy was trying to clear whatever was on her face to breathe,' he said. 'We don't think the puppy was purposely hurting our child.'
The child's cause of death is yet to be released by the medical examiner.
No charges have been filed by the NYPD.
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