An infant that was believed to have been mauled to death by the family’s pit bull puppy was already dead at the time she was bitten, authorities have revealed.
The heartbreaking case took a grim turn after medical examiners announced the one-month-old infant named Kiyanna Winfield had died from unknown causes before the family’s six-week-old pit bull-German Shepherd-mix puppy caused the shocking wounds that initially led investigators to believe she had been mauled to death.
‘The cause and manner of death are pending further study following the examination today,’ a spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner told The New York Post Wednesday.
‘But we can confirm this is not a death from a dog mauling. The injuries inflicted by the dog were postmortem.’
Baby Kiyanna – who was born April 13 – was tragically discovered in her family’s Queensbridge public housing complex apartment on Tuesday morning after what appeared to be a horrific attack.
The nightmare unfolded when the infant’s mother frantically dialed 911 just after 6:30am Tuesday.
She said that she had discovered her daughter being savagely attacked by the family pet.
A horrifying twist in the death of newborn girl that initially appeared to be a fatal puppy mauling has revealed she was already deceased before suffering devastating facial injuries
The heartbreaking case took a turn after medical examiners revealed the one-month-old infant named Kiyanna Winfield had died from unknown causes before the family’s six-week-old pit bull-German Shepherd mix puppy caused the shocking wounds that initially led investigators to believe she had been mauled to death
Neighbors later told reporters they heard screaming echoing through the sixth-floor corridors of the public housing complex before emergency responders raced to the scene.
The medical examiner’s office did admit the puppy had bitten off a ‘substantial portion’ of the baby’s face – but only after death had already occurred.
The actual cause and manner of death remain shrouded in mystery pending ‘a full pediatric workup,’ officials said.
According to police reports, the mother told officers she and her partner had been sleeping peacefully with their newborn daughter between them when they awoke to the nightmare scene of their puppy gnawing on the baby’s face.
The fate of the puppy is still unknown. The investigation is ongoing.
This comes just a month after a seven-month-old baby girl was mauled to death by a family dog at her home in Columbus, Ohio.
Elizah Turner was fatally attacked by one of her family’s three pit bulls in April.
The injured infant was first taken to a nearby fire station before she was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
There were multiple dogs inside the home at the time of the attack, but it is unclear exactly which one bit the baby, Columbus Police Sgt. James Fuqua told WBNS at the time.
He called the incident a tragic accident and said no charges are expected to be filed.
‘The cause and manner of death are pending further study following the examination today,’ a spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner told The New York Post Wednesday (Pictured: Queensbridge public housing)
‘There is really not a lot of words I can say to convey how I feel and how the officers who arrived [feel]. Everyone in this process is literally grieving as if this child belonged to us because most of us are parents and can’t imagine just how this scene is,’ Fuqua added.
After the tragedy, the pit bulls were seen being escorted out of the home by Franklin County Animal Control. The agency will determine what happens to the dogs.
