A one-month-old baby who died in a New York City apartment was not killed by a dog despite initial suspicions, an autopsy has found.
Kiyanna Winfield was pronounced dead at the Queensbridge Houses complex in Long Island City on Tuesday morning. At first NYPD investigators believed the newborn had been mauled by the family’s 6-week-old pit bull and German Shepherd mix puppy.
The girl’s mother reportedly told cops she had been sleeping between her parents in bed when they woke up to find the dog gnawing at her face. When police arrived Kiyanna was unconscious with “a substantial portion” of her face bitten off.
However, a medical examiner has ruled that she did not die as a result of the dog’s 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.”
Winfield’s official cause of death is “pending further study” and will “include a full pediatric workup”, the spokesperson said. No charges have been filed as of Thursday.
Neighbors from the apartment complex said they heard “piercing screams of a mother in anguish” bellowing through the building when the incident occurred Tuesday morning.
Upon learning of the girl’s death, neighbor Shanel Norville told NBC New York: “That’s really sad. I feel bad for the mom.” Norville added that she rarely saw the puppy on a leash.
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.
Kiyanna was born barely one month ago, on April 13. Photos published by the New York Post show the baby sleeping in hospital and what is believed to be the family home in the weeks before her untimely death.
Yvette Mathurin, whose late son was an ex-boyfriend of Kiyanna’s mother, described the family’s excitement at the birth. Mathurin had remained close to the girl’s mother after her own son’s death.
“She promised to come see me,” Mathurin told the New York Daily News. “She said she was going to bring the baby. She was very excited. She loves kids, loves children.
“Everybody was shocked to hear what happened.”
