Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Death of 4-Month-Old Bronx Boy Ruled Homicide, Police Say

By  Trevor Kapp and Rachelle Blidner | March 29, 2016 2:19pm 

BRONX — The death of a 4-month-old Parkchester boy has been ruled a homicide more than seven months after his father told police the child hit his head falling off a couch, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Tuesday.

The city's Medical Examiner ruled that Christopher Rhodes died from blunt force trauma on Aug. 7, 2015, death, said Julie Bolcer, the director of public affairs for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. 

Christopher’s father told police he had been feeding the baby on a couch pillow and walked away when the child fell, striking his head on the floor of their apartment at 2210 Lyon Ave., between Castle Hill and Glebe avenues.

The boy was transported to Einstein Hospital and then Jacobi Medical Center, where he died, police said. 

A medical examiner ruled the manner of death a homicide, meaning he “died by unknown means,” on Sunday, Boyce said.

The NYPD initially reported that Christopher sustained blunt force trauma and torso injuries, but Bolcer said she could not comment on the types of injuries the boy sustained because the investigation is ongoing.

“The (medical examiner) does not make a legal determination,” Boyce said. "There's a clear distinction."

The Bronx District Attorney’s office will decide whether to press charges against the father, who has not been arrested, Boyce said. 

Christopher’s father had “lone supervision” of the child at the time, Boyce said. The family has no history with the Administration for Children’s Services, he said.

Bolcer said she did not know why it took seven months to rule this death a homicide but said the medical examiner's office often cannot issue a ruling until it has collected information from other agencies or conducted additional tests.