Mom Navasia Jones, half-brother Paul Fine charged with murder in death of 7-year-old Bronx girl Julissia Batties
NEW YORK -- Police now say a 7-year-old Bronx girl who died in 2021 was murdered and the people closest to her were responsible for her death.
It was nearly a year ago when police found Julissia Batties unconscious inside the apartment she shared with her mom and half-brother at the Mitchel Houses. As CBS2's Thalia Perez reports, her family says it's been a long wait for these arrests.
"I'm never gonna get a chance to see my daughter again, and that's something I gotta live with for the rest of my life. I don't know how to deal with it," said Julius Batties, Julissia's father.
Batties wiped away tears as he shared his grief Wednesday.
"I couldn't believe my daughter endured all that pain and suffering, and nobody did nothing for my baby," he said.
Police say Julissia's body was found with blunt force trauma to her stomach and trauma to her face and arms on Aug. 10, 2021. Officials also say she had been sexually assaulted.
READ MORE: Grandmother Of 7-Year-Old Julissia Batties Says She Tried To Warn ACS Before Little Girl's Death
"This is a revolting, disturbing case of brutality and callousness. Julissia Batties' death was horrific, and her 7 years on Earth were a lifetime of pain," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
Julissia's mother, 36-year-old Navasia Jones, and her half-brother, 18-year-old Paul Fine, are both charged with her murder.
"I didn't kill my daughter," Jones said as she was walked out of the 40th Precinct on Wednesday.
Yolanda Davis, Julissia's paternal grandmother, told CBS2 last year that Julissia had lived with her since birth and was only returned to her month five months before her death, something she never agreed with.
"My granddaughter was a beautiful child that did not deserve what she had gotten, and so for that, I asked God to give me justice for her and He has done just that," Davis said.
Meanwhile, her dad says the arrests are a step in the right direction.
"I'm grateful that it came to this because a lot of people don't get closure or justice," he said. "Even though I got to live with this, I still have my daughter in my heart."
Jones and Fine were arraigned and charged with murder and manslaughter in the second degree. Fine is also charged with assault and sexual abuse in the first degree.