A New York City mother has been arrested after her three-month-old infant died in a Brooklyn shelter.
According to the Daily News, Genevieve Gonzalez, 28, allegedly left her baby alone with her two-year-old sister at a shelter in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, on Thursday morning. When she returned from what she told police was a brief errand, the infant was in severe distress.
Gonzalez reportedly called 911 early Thursday morning to report that the baby girl was not breathing. While waiting for emergency responders to arrive, the dispatcher coached the mother through an effort to revive the baby. The infant was transported to a local hospital where she died less than 20 minutes after Gonzalez called 911.
The mother reportedly told police she had left the shelter to walk another child to a bus stop. Surveillance video shows that Gonzalez walked to a bodega and back. It is unclear if a child was with her at the time. The footage shows that she was away from the shelter for 25 minutes.
Gonzalez reportedly said she was feeding the two-year-old child just after she returned, when she noticed that the baby was unconscious. At the time that baby was on a bed covered with pillows and blankets.
There were no signs of trauma on the baby’s body, and Gonzalez has no prior arrests. She has been charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child.
A medical examiner will perform an autopsy on the baby girl to determine the specific cause of death.