NEW YORK, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Police in New York City launched a criminal investigation into the death of a newborn baby -- umbilical cord still attached -- who was found dead after falling several floors from an apartment building.
The newborn girl was found Monday in a concrete courtyard of a building in the Bronx's University Heights at about 2:40 p.m. The wife of the building's superintendent discovered the baby while cleaning up the area behind the seven-floor structure.
New York Fire Department officials found the baby unconscious and unresponsive in the alleyway. The baby was declared dead at the scene.
Investigators were working to determine how the baby fell and whether she was alive before the fall. A surveillance video captured at least part of the baby's fall.
"Obviously there is criminality, but no arrests have been made," a New York Police Department official told The New York Times.
The community was shaken up by the news. Neighbors said the baby's parents are friendly, particularly the father.
"He's always playing with the kids," Tiffany Martinez told NBC 4 New York. "My son's autistic, he's always asking about him."
"I get frustrated with my son a lot," Martinez added, but "doing harm to him never crossed my mind."
"It's just very devastating," Jennifer Santos said.
