The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office has reclassified the death of a 1-month-old baby as a homicide.
On July 20, an infant from Staten Island, identified as Joseph Heben Jr., was admitted to a local hospital because of severe malnutrition, according to a report by the New York Times.
The identity of the person who brought the baby to Staten Island University Hospital has not been disclosed.
The baby was found unconscious and unresponsive, prompting hospital staff to notify authorities around 7 a.m., according to a statement from the NYPD.
“As soon as this family came to our attention this summer,” New York’s Administration for Children’s Services began working with police to conduct an investigation, Stephanie Gendell, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement.
Officials have not revealed if Joseph’s parents or relatives played any role in his death.
Gendell could not verify whether the victim’s family had any prior interactions with New York’s Administration for Children’s Services, as state laws prevented him from doing so, as reported by the Times.
Heart-broken Community
“A helpless child. An innocent child, like, really? Come on. It’s terrible,” a man who worked near the apartment complex in the Tottenville area where the 1-month-old lived told the New York Daily News.
A man, who chose not to disclose his name to the Daily News, shared that Joseph had an older sister who appeared to be well taken care of.
“Whenever I saw her with her daughter … very nice, and the kid was always smiling,” he said of the mother and her young children. “I don’t know the inner workings of their family or whatever they’re doing in their abode, but they seem to be normal people.”
“This neighborhood is safe,” Tham Kshetry, a father of two children who works at the deli below Joseph’s apartment, told the Times. “When I heard what happened upstairs, I felt bad.”
“This is shocking,” Enrique Vargas, who runs a nearby barber shop, told the Times. “I’m a father of three. This hits hard.”
The NYPD informed that the investigation is still in progress.
If you think a child may be in danger, reach out to the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org for assistance. Every call is free of charge and kept private. The hotline operates around the clock in over 170 languages.