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Earlier this month, Bartee, 26, was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter when her 15-month-old daughter was found dead in their Mount Vernon apartment.
When police responded to the 911 call on Friday, Aug. 6 at the Washington Street apartment, they found the toddler unresponsive. First responders performed life-saving measures, but the child was declared dead less than 30 minutes later.
The initial investigation indicated that the toddler was dead for several hours. According to police, she sustained significant trauma to the face and suffered from internal bleeding, though the official cause of death has not been determined. When police arrived at the apartment, the “temperature of the toddler’s body was extremely cold, which indicates an unusual situation.”
According to a report from the Washington Post, Bartee struck the child in the back multiple times to stop her from crying.
Mount Vernon Police Commissioner Ronald Fatigate called the crime scene “gruesome,” and said that the department is providing counseling for the officers involved.
“It was a gruesome discovery that shocked even our most senior officers on the job,” he said. “We are providing counseling services to all officers impacted on this case and are working even harder to strengthen our relationship with the community to help families in need. I commend our officers for their hard work in making an arrest in this case.”
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