Police: Queens Woman Charged With Murder In Death Of 11-Month-Old Son
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Queens woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her 11-month-old son, police said Tuesday.
Nicole Kelly, 22, has been charged with second-degree murder, police said.
Kelly rented a room in an apartment on 52nd Avenue in Elmhurst, 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reported. Kelly's landlady told Rivera that she came home around 4 p.m. Sunday and found the little boy dressed in a white outfit.
"I thought the baby was going to get a baptism or something," said the woman, who did not want to be identified. "He was dressed all in white."
But when the landlady realized the baby wasn't breathing, she called an ambulance.
"I checked his pulse, but he didn't have a pulse. He was already cold and pale," she said, adding that Kelly told her the baby had stopped breathing earlier in the day.
Queens mom charged with suffocating baby. Landlady tells #1010WINS tot was decked out in white outfit & not breathing pic.twitter.com/6DBPmjKYPS
— Mona Rivera (@iMonaRivera) July 8, 2014
According to a criminal complaint, Kelly had tucked her son in a bed sheet, covering his face and body, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. She allegedly watched him struggle to breathe and move before leaving him alone for about 30 minutes, Brown said. When she came back, the boy was blue and unresponsive, according to the DA.
The boy, identified as Kiam Felix Jr., was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Police said Kelly told authorities she was overwhelmed and couldn't cope anymore with being a parent, so she suffocated the baby, Rivera reported.
Kelly allegedly told investigators: "I reached my breaking point. I didn't want him anymore."
"This is a truly disturbing case of a mother accused of intentionally killing her helpless 11-month-old infant son," Brown said. "The defendant is now facing serious charges that could lead to her spending the rest of her life behind bars if convicted."
The medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.
In an unrelated case Tuesday, the mother of a 10-month-old girl was arrested after police said she abandoned the baby at the Columbus Circle subway station Monday morning.
The baby was taken to the hospital to be evaluated and is now in the care of the Administration for Children's Services.
There is a city law that allows people to bring an unwanted baby to a hospital, police station or firehouse with no questions asked, but it only applies to infants 5 days old or younger.
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