Latest news with #infantdeath
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Baby's cause of death revealed as family say the puppy originally blamed for her killing has not been put down
The parents of the one-month-old baby who died in a New York apartment building on Tuesday have spoken out, saying that their child died as a result of SIDS. Initial reports said that Kiyanna Winfield was killed after being mauled by a six-week-old pit bull and German Shepherd mix. '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.
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Death of baby in Corowa home is ‘tragic' but remains a mystery, says coroner
The circumstances of the death of an apparently 'thriving' three-month-old baby remain unknown, an inquest has concluded. 'It is tragic, but we simply don't know what happened to KP,' NSW deputy state coroner Kasey Pearce said on Friday. The infant KP was found dead at his mother's home in Corowa in the NSW Riverina region in January 2022. The inquest revealed possible causes of death including drowning, suffocation and inadequate nutrition, Pearce said at the inquest in Sydney. But there was insufficient evidence in support for any of these. She said the available evidence from the inquest did not allow her to find cause, place or manner of KP's death. Pearce also rejected the account his mother gave police after KP's death, which included leaving her baby in the care of an unidentified man. 'It is implausible and inconsistent,' she said. 'Unfortunately, the result is there is no evidence leading up to the death of KP.' Pearce said the coroners court knew nothing about KP's emerging personality, but the baby was loved by his family. 'Until his premature death he seemed to be thriving,' she said. The inquest examined the actions of those involved in the care of KP and his mother before his death. These included services from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), Murrumbidgee local health district and Albury Wodonga Health. There were shortcomings in the actions of the organisations, but Pearce said her findings did not suggest that KP's death could have been avoided. 'On the contrary I was impressed with the care and professionalism of all who cared for KP,' she said. ''It appeared to those who saw KP with his mother that KP was safe in her care.' In the lead-up to his birth, DCJ completed a safety assessment where potential dangers were noted including his mother's mental health and drug abuse. But KP was deemed as 'safe with a plan', provided the involvement of social workers, and the support of family and community services. In retrospect, Pearce said there were signs of increasing risk for KP after his birth. His mother missed appointments including for a dietician and lactation consultant, and did not always answer the door to social workers. 'Even on days when she was clearly aware they would be visiting,' Pearce said. In her recommendations, Pearce said the NSW Health Safe Start program should formalise its administration and governance, including the clear allocation of roles and expectations. The program offers care and early intervention programs for pregnant women and their infants, and was responsible for providing services to KP and his mother. On January 12, 2022 a family member attended the granny flat where KP lived with his mother, and heard baby cooing sounds, Pearce said. 'It is the latest point in which we can establish that KP was alive,' she said.
Fox News
2 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Infant found dead with dog bites was not killed by puppy: officials
A 1-month-old girl found dead with dog bites on her face in New York City Tuesday did not die from those injuries, the city's chief medical officer said in a perplexing new development. Initial reports suggested the family's pit bull–German shepherd mix was responsible for the infant's death, but the city's chief medical officer has now ruled out that theory, and the true cause of death has yet to be determined. "The cause and manner of death are pending further study and will require additional testing, but the medical examiner has been able to determine this is not a fatal dog mauling," the city's medical examiner told Fox News Digital. The young victim, Kiyanna Winfield, was sleeping with her mother and stepfather inside an apartment at the Queensbridge Houses public housing complex in Queens, police said. When the pair woke up at around 6:40 a.m., they found the child unresponsive with bite marks on her face. Neighbors said screams from the mother rattled the building, according to reports. The dog bit off a "substantial portion" of the face of the baby, the New York Post reported, citing sources. The outlet reported that the infant was born April 13, and the dog was 6 weeks old. A friend of the mother said she had spoken to the distraught parent. "She told me she woke up, and the dog was eating the baby, chewing on the baby's face," the friend told the outlet. The child was pronounced dead by responding EMS workers. Police said the case is still under investigation, and no arrests have been made. Winfield's mother and stepfather were not identified by police. The city's Animal Care Centers of NYC was called to take the puppy and another dog out of the apartment. The organization provided photos of the puppy being handled by a worker and inside a cage. The infant's grandmother told the Daily News she had previously offered to take the newborn in while the mom, who was living in a shelter at the time, secured better housing. "I learned that she was pregnant maybe a couple days before she gave birth," the grandmother told the outlet. "After she gave birth, she loved the baby. I asked her if she had any problems and if she wanted to give me the baby. She said no, she'd take care of her. She would manage." The grandmother said she had not yet gotten to meet her new granddaughter when she learned of her death Tuesday. "How could they have a dog with a baby?" she asked. "The dog shouldn't be in the house."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Horrifying twist in death of newborn girl who was 'mauled to death by puppy'
An infant that was believed to have been mauled to death by the family's pit bull puppy was already dead at the time she was bitten, authorities have revealed. The heartbreaking case took a grim turn after medical examiners announced the one-month-old infant named Kiyanna Winfield had died from unknown causes before the family's six-week-old pit bull-German Shepherd-mix puppy caused the shocking wounds that initially led investigators to believe she had been mauled to death. 'The cause and manner of death are pending further study following the examination today,' a spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner told The New York Post Wednesday. 'But we can confirm this is not a death from a dog mauling. The injuries inflicted by the dog were postmortem.' Baby Kiyanna - who was born April 13 - was tragically discovered in her family's Queensbridge public housing complex apartment on Tuesday morning after what appeared to be a horrific attack. The nightmare unfolded when the infant's mother frantically dialed 911 just after 6:30am Tuesday. She said that she had discovered her daughter being savagely attacked by the family pet. Neighbors later told reporters they heard screaming echoing through the sixth-floor corridors of the public housing complex before emergency responders raced to the scene. The medical examiner's office did admit the puppy had bitten off a 'substantial portion' of the baby's face - but only after death had already occurred. The actual cause and manner of death remain shrouded in mystery pending 'a full pediatric workup,' officials said. According to police reports, the mother told officers she and her partner had been sleeping peacefully with their newborn daughter between them when they awoke to the nightmare scene of their puppy gnawing on the baby's face. The fate of the puppy is still unknown. The investigation is ongoing. This comes just a month after a seven-month-old baby girl was mauled to death by a family dog at her home in Columbus, Ohio. Elizah Turner was fatally attacked by one of her family's three pit bulls in April. The injured infant was first taken to a nearby fire station before she was taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital where she was pronounced dead. There were multiple dogs inside the home at the time of the attack, but it is unclear exactly which one bit the baby, Columbus Police Sgt. James Fuqua told WBNS at the time. He called the incident a tragic accident and said no charges are expected to be filed. 'There is really not a lot of words I can say to convey how I feel and how the officers who arrived [feel]. Everyone in this process is literally grieving as if this child belonged to us because most of us are parents and can't imagine just how this scene is,' Fuqua added. After the tragedy, the pit bulls were seen being escorted out of the home by Franklin County Animal Control. The agency will determine what happens to the dogs.
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Puppy did not maul newborn to death in Queens apartment, autopsy finds
A one-month-old baby in Queens did not die after being mauled by a dog, an autopsy has found. The newborn, named as Kiyanna Winfield, was found dead on a bed inside the Queensbridge Houses complex in Long Island City on Tuesday morning. NYPD Investigators previously thought the little girl had died after the family's 6-week-old pit bull and German Shepherd mix puppy mauled her face as she slept in a bed with her mother and her partner. However, the medical examiner has ruled that Winfield did not die as a result of dog bites. 'The cause and manner of death are pending further study following the examination today,' a spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner told The New York Post Wednesday. 'But we can confirm this is not a death from a dog mauling. The injuries inflicted by the dog were postmortem', they added. No charges have been filed as of Thursday. Authorities have not confirmed the nature of their investigation. Winfield's official cause of death is 'pending further study' and will 'include a full pediatric workup', the spokesperson said. When police arrived at the horror scene, Winfield was unconscious, with 'a substantial portion' of her face bitten off. Her mother claimed she woke up and found the puppy 'chewing the baby's face'. Neighbors from the apartment complex said they heard 'piercing screams of a mother in anguish' bellowing through the building. Two other dogs, including a pit bull, were found inside the home. The young pit bull mix pup was removed from the home by the NYPD and taken to an Animal Care Centers of NYC shelter on Tuesday evening, according to the New York Daily News. The animal was reportedly placed on a 10-day observation hold for rabies. Neighbor Shanel Norville gave her view on the tragedy to NBC New York, saying: 'That's really sad. I feel bad for the mom, but at the end of the day, I feel like whoever was in that house they weren't being responsible. I'm sorry.' Norville said that she rarely saw the puppy in question on a leash. The baby's mother was excited to be a parent and recently phoned family friend Yvette Mathurin, 69, and sent pictures of Winfield to her, according to the Daily News. 'She promised to come see me. She said she was going to bring the baby, but we did not have the time', Mathurin said. 'She was very excited. She's a kids lover. She loves kids, loves children. I don't know how that happened.' Burton's adoptive mother reportedly offered to take the child in, while Burton, who was believed to be living in a shelter at the time, sought to secure better housing, shared the outlet. 'I learned that she was pregnant maybe a couple of days before she gave birth,' the adoptive mother told the newspaper. 'After she gave birth, she loved the baby. I asked her if she had any problems and if she wanted to give me the baby. She said no, she'd take care of her. She would manage', she added. The concerned woman questioned why a dog was kept in the house with a young baby.
