A 3-year-old boy who was allegedly pushed into Lake Michigan at Chicago's Navy Pier on September 19 has passed away, according to family members.
Josiah Brown was declared dead at 10:16 a.m. local time on Sunday after his aunt Victoria Moreno allegedly pushed him into the water nearly a week before.
Moreno, 34, of Des Plaines, Illinois, was arrested on September 19 on the 700 block of East Grand Avenue, Chicago police said two days later. The Chicago Police Department (CBD) said that Moreno did not attempt to rescue Brown after pushing him into the lake, ABC7 reported on Monday.
Moreno was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a child, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"'Not once during any of these events did the defendant scream for help, call for help, ask for help or try herself to help,' Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during Moreno's bond hearing on September 21.
Earlier on September 19, when Moreno was walking near the water with the toddler, the child crawled under a barrier near the edge, but she took hold of his foot and pulled him back because there were several people nearby, Scaduto said. Moreno was reportedly caught on surveillance footage shoving the child into the water and doing nothing to try and save him.
Police had arrived after bystanders called 911, and Moreno allegedly pretended that she didn't know Brown, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
CBD officers pulled the boy from Lake Michigan on September 19, about 30 minutes after he was in the water. He had gone into cardiac arrest, police said. Doctors had tried to provide the boy with a heart transplant at Lurie Children's Hospital.
Moreno has been ordered not to contact her family. At the hearing, prosecutors told the judge that the boy was not likely to survive and that the charges could be upgraded. Although Moreno's defense argued that she suffers from mental health issues, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Susanna Ortiz said that her alleged actions were "intentionally brutal and heinous" and denied her bond.
Prosecutors also alleged that the 3-year-old boy was with Moreno the previous week in an incident where she allegedly stole the family's car and took her two nieces and nephew to Navy Pier, but the older niece called relatives to get them.
The boy's grandfather, Dan Brown, described his grandson as "a bundle of joy" who is "full of energy, wants to do everything" and "loves his dad," ABC7 reported.
Moreno's next court appearance is scheduled for September 30.
Newsweek has contacted the Chicago Police Department for comment.
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