A 2-year-old girl was discovered dead with bruising and broken ribs in Far Rockaway, cops said.
Police responded to the home near Rockaway Beach Boulevard on Beach 56th Place around 11:30 p.m. Monday and found Kevasia Edwards, 2, unconscious and unresponsive on her back with her mouth open.
Christine Murphy, 27, said her sister, a neighbor of the tragic tot, ran upstairs when the 28 year-old mother-of-five called for help with the unresponsive child.
The woman performed CPR, “but the baby was already cold,” Murphy said.
“The baby was fully dressed lying on a folded blanket on the floor,” she added.
“One of her bottom teeth was missing and one was loose and she had a big bump on her forehead. The baby was not breathing. I dropped to the floor. I was crying hysterical,” Murphy said.
Investigators found Edwards unconscious and unresponsive, authorities said.
She was rushed to St. John’s Hospital but it was too late.
The toddler was pronounced dead on arrival just after midnight.
Police sources said the family had a history with the Administration for Children’s services.
When the tot was 6 months old her father was being investigated by the agency after they discovered Kavasia suffered a burn mark on her foot that was never treated. Neighbors said the couple had their children taken away after that—but the mother regained custody sometime later.
A neighbor who would only identify herself as ‘Mama’ said Edwards looked to be about eight months old.
“If you rubbed her back you could feel her ribs,” Mama said.
“It hurts. I’m devastated. Part of me feels like I could do more but I couldn’t. I prayed. Through her death, God is using her as a shining light so this doesn’t happen to any other child,” she added.
Edwards also suffered two broken ribs and appeared to be underweight at just 24 pounds, police sources said.
Only one of the broken ribs appeared to be a recent injury, the sources said.
A police source said initial reports concluded the injuries were unlikely from CPR procedures but the investigation is ongoing, a source said.
The 28 year-old mother, who has four other children, is currently being questioned by police at the station house, cops said.
She told investigators Kavasia was being potty-trained but she fell and hit her head, the sources said.
“She kept [Kavasia] locked in a room with a dog. She wasn’t potty trained so she would pee and mess on herself and [her mother] let her lie in it. She had bed sores on her bottom,” Mama added.
Investigators determined the tot had been dead a while because of her body temperature which was 91 degrees.
Little Kavasia’s four older brothers were found filthy and unkempt when police responded to the scene, sources said. They were being evaluated at St. John’s Hospital.
The tot’s mom has prior arrests for menacing and assault but those incidents did not involve her children.
The investigation is ongoing.