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.
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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.
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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.”
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