The Bronx mom found dead alongside her autistic 8-year-old son was suffering from mental illness and unprepared to handle the responsibility of caring for the disabled youngster after he returned home from a rehabilitation facility, a family friend told the Daily News.
Lisa Cotton, 38, and her son, Nazir Millien, died in their Wakefield apartment, leaving Cotton’s traumatized 4-year-old daughter alone in the home with the two corpses for days.
Cotton, who suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, never got the help she needed caring for Nazir, said family friend Tyra Ford, 42, who has long had guardianship over Cotton’s teenage daughter. Ford is hoping to now become the guardian of the 4-year-old daughter found in the apartment Friday as well.
“I believe that mental health has dropped the ball. ACS has dropped the ball,” Ford told the Daily News. “Somebody, a nurse, should have been in constant contact with this single mother with records of mental health issues, not taking her medication, with a child with a disability and a 4-year-old.”
Cotton’s father, Hubert Cotton, had offered to care for the 4-year-old girl full-time but, he told The News, his daughter “didn’t want me to because she wanted me to bring [Nazir and the 4-year-old] together. I told her, I don’t know how to deal with the boy.”
Nazir, who used a wheelchair and a feeding tube, was living in a rehabilitation center for about two years, Ford said. He came back into his mother’s care about five months ago when she was already struggling with raising her 4-year-old daughter and dealing with her own mental illness, the friend said.
“She was trying,” Ford said. “The burden of having to go back and forth when Nazir was in rehabilitation — she had to go back and forth to aid him, with the new baby. She had definitely been stressed.”
“A care plan and crisis plan … preventive measures should have already been put in place prior to the child being returned back to her,” added Ford, who works with autistic children as a registered behavior technician for Proud Moments ABA.
Cops were first called to Cotton’s apartment on April 15 after getting a 911 call asking them to check on the family. Cops knocked on the apartment door but no one answered. At the time, no one detected a foul odor or heard screams, a police source said.
As the week passed, neighbors started to notice a powerful stench and heard the little girl crying out, cops were told.
Cotton’s teen daughter went to check on them Friday, using her key to get inside.
“We sent her over when she got off of work on Friday,” Ford said. “She saw her brother on the floor. Her brother was already deceased. And then she went looking for her sister. Her sister was on the bed with a shirt on covered in chocolate. She grabbed her and called the grandad, called 911, and then called me.”
Lisa Cotton is believed to have died first, leaving young Nazir unable to care for himself, according to a police source.
Police found Lisa Cotton’s body when they arrived. They believe her 4-year-old daughter ate candy and chocolate to survive while she was trapped inside the apartment.
The city Medical Examiner’s office is conducting autopsies to determine the mother and son’s causes of death.
“Until they do the autopsy, they’ll know more,” Ford said. “But the honest truth is that Lisa dealt with mental illness.”
City Administration for Children’s Services officials wouldn’t confirm discuss specifics of the case, citing state privacy laws.
“The safety and well-being of New York City’s children is our top priority,” ACS spokeswoman Marisa Kaufman said Tuesday. “We are investigating this tragedy with the NYPD.”
Ford is looking to take guardianship of the 4-year-old girl and to get counseling for the girl and the girl’s older sister. She’s started a GoFundMe to help Lisa Cotton’s father with funeral costs.
“She was just a sweet girl,” Ford said of Lisa Cotton. “It’s real sad it happened like this.”
Originally Published: April 22, 2025 at 4:03 PM EDT
