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3-Year-Old Jaden Jordan's Death Ruled Homicide by Medical Examiner

By  Radhika Marya and Trevor Kapp | February 2, 2017 4:42pm 

 The Medical Examiner officially ruled 3-year-old Jaden Jordan's death a homicide.
The Medical Examiner officially ruled 3-year-old Jaden Jordan's death a homicide.
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BROOKLYN — The death of a 3-year-old boy who was beaten into a coma last November has been ruled a homicide, the city Medical Examiner's office said Thursday.

Jaden Jordan was found unconscious and covered in feces in his Gravesend home on Nov. 28, following a tip from a concerned neighbor about a child being held in a dog cage. He was pronounced dead six days later at Coney Island Hospital.

Salvatore Lucchesse, 24, the boyfriend of Jaden's mother, was indicted on assault and child endangerment charges in December for attacking the boy. He had previously told investigators Jaden had slipped in the shower.

Administration for Children's Services workers were delayed finding the boy because they were given the wrong address. The city's Department of Investigation has since found "systemic problems" in how ACS investigates reports of abuse and noted that workers had "access to databases" that should have led them to the boy's correct address sooner over a two-day period.

Thursday's homicide ruling found Jaden's cause of death was "abusive head and neck trauma," according to the ME's office.

“Now that the Medical Examiner has determined that Jaden Jordan’s senseless death was a homicide, we will seek to upgrade the charges in the grand jury,” said Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in a statement.

— Additional reporting by Eddie Small