The death of a 1-year-old girl on Staten Island whose parents had a history with the Administration for Children’s Services was deemed not criminal on Wednesday, but police vowed to continue to investigate.
Little Bianca Abdul was found unconscious inside her playpen in the Midland Beach home on Moreland Street at about 8:05 a.m. on Monday, police said, and was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital.
Bianca’s mother admitted to investigators that the little girl had fallen and hit her head several days earlier, a police source said, but that she appeared to be fine and was never taken to the hospital.
“We have a long way to go with this,” Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Wednesday, speaking at police headquarters. “We’re quite concerned about it. … Although it’s not deemed a homicide now, this case is not over.”
Bianca had an injury to her head, Boyce said, but it did not cause her death. Police are also waiting for a toxicology report to come back, he added.
Following Bianca’s death, ACS removed a 12-year-old child from the home as a precaution, Boyce said.
The family had a long history with ACS, stretching back several years, according to authorities. Police were called to the home several times, including in January 2015, April 2015 and March 2016 to investigate allegations of inadequate supervision and drug use, another source said.
The mother has an active order of protection against Bianca’s father, who has 14 previous arrests, including for a violation of an order of protection and third-degree assault, the source said.
The mother has two prior arrests, both of which are sealed.
The baby’s father was handcuffed in front of the home on Tuesday, arrested for violating both the mother’s and a neighbor’s order of protection, Boyce said.
ACS said in a statement on Tuesday that it was investigating Bianca’s death along with the NYPD.
