The mother of the 2-month-old boy found dead inside a Manhattan homeless shelter hotel has been criminally charged after investigators determined she allegedly struck him with a hard object, police said Tuesday.
Cops showed up at the Candlewood Suites hotel on West 39th Street near Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen around noon Sunday when Antonio Diaz’s mother reported that he wasn’t breathing.
Officers found him unconscious and unresponsive, and EMS rushed him to Mount Sinai West Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police determined that Antonio’s mother, Alyssa Owens, 24, struck him with an unspecified object, cops said.
The baby’s autopsy revealed that he died of blunt force trauma to the head, resulting in multiple skull fractures, according to police sources.
Owens was charged late Monday afternoon with assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child, police said.
The charges against her could be upgraded, police said.
Tajh Washington, 30, who lives next door in the hotel with his 18-month-old daughter, Aubrey, said he was horrified by what happened.
“I was just telling the officer outside my door, like, ‘Oh my God, what if I had this lady babysit my daughter? What if?’” he said. “Anything could have happened. It’s a child, we’ve got children here.”
“I feel bad, I feel like I wanna leave truthfully,” he said. “I don’t feel safe, I’m here with my daughter. I want to do right by my daughter. It’s bad, it’s scary, it’s a scary situation, just to know it was next door.”
Police initially said Monday that the baby’s death appeared to be the result of sudden infant death syndrome.
A man who appeared to be the baby’s father grieved the tot’s death on Facebook Sunday.
“My son Antonio Junior Diaz passed away this afternoon,” Israel J. Diaz wrote. “I lost another part of my self I love you baby boy I will see you soon but for now watch over us as we spread your legacy. Spread those wings proud papi.”
Candlewood Suites is under the InterContinental Hotels Group brand, though the Hell’s Kitchen location is independently owned and operated.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of this child following this tragedy,” IHG spokesman Jacob Hawkins said in a statement. “We are cooperating fully with the NYPD on their investigation and would refer any further questions to them.”