SLE Child Death Determined Homicide After Drugs Found In System: NYPD

LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan – Nearly five months after a young boy was found dead in his Lower East Side home, his death has been deemed a homicide due to drugs found in his system, police said Wednesday.

Officers found the 22-month-old boy lying face down on a bed, unconscious and unconscious, in his family’s Baruch Place apartment on the morning of June 17, according to the NYPD.

The boy’s parents called 911 after finding him, police said.

EMS responded and rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Later, authorities identified the boy as Charles Rosa-Velloso.

Now, months later, his death has been declared a homicide, police said.

According to a NYPD spokesperson, the medical examiner found a controlled substance in the boy’s system that is believed to have caused his death. It was not clear what the controlled substance was.

According to the NYPD, the boy’s parents were questioned at the time of his death but were released.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning.

Authorities said their investigation was ongoing.