‘Happy’ 9-year-old girl found dead by hanging after she is restricted from using her cell phone

A little girl in New York City has died of an apparent suicide following an argument in her home over her cell phone use.

The New York Post reports that Heaven Vega, 9, took her own life in her family home at Bronx River Apartments on Saturday. That morning, Heaven’s mother Jennifer had reportedly told the girl that it was too early in the day to use her cell phone and that she needed to wait.

“Apparently the girl woke up, and she wanted to get the phone to go on YouTube. But the mother told her, no, it was too early in the morning,” an identified neighbor told the newspaper.

Some point later, Heaven appears to have hanged herself with a belt.

“Yesterday morning, I heard the older daughter calling for her sister at a regular tone, and then all of a sudden her voice got really loud, and she started screaming,” another neighbor, Zoraida Irizarry, told the New York Post. 

The mother also reportedly found the girl in the bedroom and immediately called 911. According to the report, one of Heaven’s brothers performed CPR while the family was awaiting for emergency responders. The paramedics transported her to a nearby hospital, but she was later pronounced dead.

“I don’t know how her mother can function after this,” Irizarry told the newspaper. “I don’t get it. She always had a smile on her face. I only ever saw her happy.”