The parents of a 1-year-old Staten Island girl who died in March are being investigated after her death was ruled a homicide last summer, a law enforcement source said Monday.
Bianca Abdul was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital North after she was found unconscious inside her Moreland Street home in Midland Beach on March 20, 2017, according to police.
At the time, her mother told investigators that Bianca had fallen and hit her head a few days before her death, according to another police source. However, she said she didn’t take the child to the hospital since Bianca appeared to be fine, the source added.
The injury did not appear to be the cause of the girl’s death, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce had said, vowing to continue an investigation.
“Although it’s not deemed a homicide now, this case is not over,” Boyce said in March.
In 2017, the city Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, determining the cause of death to be acute intoxication from morphine and Diazepam, an anti-anxiety drug, according to Aja Worthy-Davis, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Bianca’s parents, who have previously been investigated by the Administration for Children’s Services, both have criminal histories, another police source said.
As of March 2017, Bianca’s father had 14 prior arrests, including one for third-degree assault, according to a law enforcement source. The girl’s mother had two arrests, both of which are sealed.
On the day of Bianca’s death, her father was taken into police custody for violating an order of protection imposed by her mother and a neighbor, Boyce had said at the time.
In the past, cops have also responded to several allegations of inadequate supervision and drug use against the parents, another police source said in March.
