A 7-month-old baby girl found dead Monday in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood was killed with a power saw, apparently because she wouldn't stop crying, sources tell NBC5.
The baby was found unresponsive around 9:40 a.m. in the 2800 block of South Avers Avenue with “visible trauma” to her body, according to Chicago Police News Affairs.
Police sources told NBC5 a saw was used to kill the baby, apparently because she wouldn't stop crying. Sources said the saw was used after a failed suffocation attempt.
Police originally reported the baby was 9 months old, but the medical examiner confirmed the infant to be 7 months old.
The baby was pronounced dead at the scene, and a 52-year-old woman -- a relative to the baby -- was taken into custody. The woman was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition with self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.
The relationship between the woman and the baby was not immediately clear, but a domestic-related murder investigation was underway Monday afternoon. Sources say the woman may have been the infant's grandmother.
Neighbors said a couple with their two grown daughters and at least one infant lived in the home.
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"They're great people," said neighbor Francis Arreola. "I've known them over 20 years."
Witnesses said emotions were high outside the home Monday.
"I saw a young girl with a man, and she was crying saying, 'When am I going to see her again? When am I going to see my mom again?'" said neighbor Virginia Otero. "It's terrible news to hear that, because I'm a sentimental person and you know, to see something like that... terrible, terrible."
