NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 6-year-old girl died Friday after she was found inside a Bronx apartment with bruises and trauma to her wrists and body, police said.
Just before 4 a.m., police were called to a 12th-floor apartment at E. 165th Street and Tinton Avenue in NYCHA's Forest Houses.
They found Jalayah Eason unconscious in the apartment. She was rushed to NYC Health & Hospitals/Lincoln but couldn't be saved.
An 8-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl were also found in the apartment, the Daily News reported. They were unharmed, but cops noticed bruises and apparent ligature marks from old injuries.
The boy told officers, "Mommy hit me," though he later said the assault happened in the past, a police source told the paper.
Neighbors told the Daily News that the mother — identified by the sources as Lynija Eason — constantly yelled at her children.
"Last night there was terrible screaming. It was exactly 4 a.m.," said neighbor Dennis Rivera. "The little girl was screaming."
Rivera added that the screams were "like torture."
"I had to go outside," he said. "I knew something like this would happen. I feel terrible that I didn't call somebody about this. Now she's dead."
Eason reportedly told police that Jalayah went to bed around 11 p.m. When she awoke in the middle of the night, she found her unconscious by the closet in her bedroom. When she didn't wake up, she said she called 911. Someone also attempted and failed to perform CPR, though it's unclear who.
As responding city emergency medical personnel treated Jalayah, they noticed the marks on her wrists and chest.
A law enforcement official told the Daily News that the home was filthy and in total disarray, with clothes and other items lying around.
Police said they had been called to the apartment on multiple occasions due to arguments. They also investigated reports of child neglect.
The city's Administration of Children's Services said the agency was "investigating this case with the NYPD," but would not say whether Eason was being investigated for abuse and neglect.
"The safety and well-being of New York City's children is our top priority," the spokeswoman added.
Eason was being questioned by police about Jalayah's killing on Friday. There have been no arrests.
The city's medical examiner will determine Jalayah's cause of death.
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