Bronx Man Charged After 3-Year-Old Jaylynn Evans Dies In His Care; Grandmother Pleads: 'I Just Need To Know What Happened'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mystery surrounds the death of a little girl from Brooklyn.
Family members say she went to a sleepover, ended up in the Bronx, and was pronounced dead Thursday night.
CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported Friday the family has so many unanswered questions, wondering how their happy granddaughter's life was cut so short.
"I just need to know what happened. If you did something please let us know please. I just need to know," said grandmother Andean Plunkett.
Plunkett wiped away tears, heartbroken over the sudden death of her 3-year-old granddaughter Jaylynn Evans.
"She wasn't a sick kid. Very healthy. We just went to the clinic for a checkup," Plunkett said.
Family members say Jaylynn lived in East New York with them and her mother. Relatives thought she was at a sleepover around the corner with her 4-year-old friend and her mom, but somehow ended up in the Bronx, at the Mott Haven home of that little girl's grandmother.
"Did your daughter even know that this man was taking them?" Grymes asked.
"I have no idea. She's just so hysterical, it's like she can't even talk," Plunkett said.
Police sources say that man, 59-year-old Anthony Richardson, told police he was watching both girls, and found Jaylynn unconscious.
He allegedly did not call 911, but drove to Cohen's Children's Medical Center in Queens, where Jaylynn was pronounced dead.
"Why would you drive from Bronx to queens with a sick baby in the car? You could've just took her to the Bronx. Why did you go all the way to Queens for two hours? That doesn't make sense," Plunkett said.
Police say there were no obvious signs of trauma.
The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, and if foul play was involved.
"She was a happy go lucky girl. She was always running up and down. Happy go lucky," said great-grandfather Winston Ramsey.
Police say Anthony Richardson was taken into custody, and is charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child.
Evans' family said the hospital told them she may have had COVID-19, but that would be part of the autopsy.
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