An infant girl found dead in her family’s Queens apartment was not killed by the family dog as first suspected — and had already died before being bitten by the puppy, officials said Wednesday..
Six-week-old Kiyanna Winfield was in bed between her 26-year-old mother and her stepfather in their apartment in NYCHA’s Queensbridge North Houses in Long Island City when the couple woke up about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and saw the puppy biting the baby’s face, cops were told.
The infant died at the scene on 12th St. near 41st Ave. in Long Island City and initially investigators believed the puppy was responsible for the baby’s death.
An initial autopsy performed by was inconclusive with further testing needed to determine how the baby died, a city Medical Examiner spokeswoman said Wednesday. But the autopsy did reveal the dog bites were inflicted after the girl was already dead.
The 6-week-old family dog, a pit bull mix puppy, was taken by the NYPD to an Animal Care Centers of NYC shelter Tuesday evening. The dog was put on a 10-day rabies observation hold.
The victim’s mother, Lillian Burton, had been excited about becoming a mom for the second time, friends and relatives said.
“I was so shocked,” Yvette Mathurin, 69, whose late son was an ex-boyfriend of the mother, said of the baby’s death. “Everybody was shocked to hear what happened.”
Colin Mixson / New York Daily News
Workers with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner wheeling a gurney out a building in the Queensbridge Houses where a 1-month-old girl was found dead Tuesday morning. (Colin Mixson / New York Daily News)
“After she had the baby she called me and told me she had the baby and sent me pictures of the baby,” added Mathurin, whose stayed close with Burton after Mathurin’s son died of a heart attack a few years ago.
“She promised to come see me. She said she was going to bring the baby but we did not have the time. She was very excited. She’s a kids lover. She loves kids, loves children. I don’t know how that happened.”
No arrests have been made as cops continue to probe the incident.
The adoptive mother of the child’s mom told The News on Tuesday she had offered to take the newborn in while the mom, who was living in a shelter at the time, worked to secure better housing.
“I learned that she was pregnant maybe a couple days before she gave birth,” the adoptive mother, who wished not to be named, said. “After she gave birth, she loved the baby. I asked her if she had any problems and if she wanted to give me the baby. She said no, she’d take care of her. She would manage.”
“How could they have a dog with a baby?” the adoptive mother added. “The dog shouldn’t be in the house.”
Originally Published: May 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM EDT
