Medical Examiner: Mount Vernon Boy, 2, Suffered Blunt Force Trauma
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A Mount Vernon boy who authorities believe was murdered by his father suffered blunt force trauma, the Westchester County medical examiner's office said Wednesday.
Lloyd Scott, 34, has been charged with second-degree murder in the 2-year-old's death.
Authorities said the boy's mother returned home from work Monday night and found the child unconscious. He was rushed to Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"Mount Vernon police detectives immediately began searching for the child's father for questioning," Mount Vernon Police Commissioner Shawn Harris said Tuesday. "Based on our preliminary investigation, moments ago Lloyd Scott was charged and booked with murder in the second degree for the death of one of God's angels."
Scott, 34, has no criminal history, officials said.
"This is another tragic situation that hurts beyond description," said Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas. "This toddler was taken away from us at the hands of someone that they trusted."
Thomas said the name of the child would remain undisclosed.
"My heart breaks for this family and the pain that they're going through," Thomas said.
"The tragic death of any human being is hard enough to deal with. But the death of a child, a toddler, is one of the hardest calls for a police officer to respond to and to investigate," Harris said. "Most of us are parents, and this hits home. Our prayers go out to the family, the friends and the loved ones of this young child."
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported Tuesday, bags marked as "evidence" were carried out of 531 East Lincoln Avenue and loaded into an SUV.
"It's very sad. No kid deserves to die that way," said Anselme Woodart, who lives in the same building. "And I pray to God to bring justice."
Linda Duncan told Aiello she lives in an apartment that shares a wall with the unit where tragedy struck.
"You could hear the baby running, playing, crying in the morning, what not, but I never heard anything like screaming at the child or anything," she said.
Anyone with any additional information is asked to call the Mount Vernon Detective Division at 914-665-2510.
