A 4-year-old boy was found dead in a Times Square apartment Wednesday with burns and cuts on his body, law enforcement sources tell NBC 4 New York.
Police responded to a 911 call at a building on West 48th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue around 11 a.m. Wednesday. The officers found the 4-year-old boy unconscious and unresponsive.
The child was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital.
The boy had been in a babysitter's care at the apartment after his father was arrested, according to law enforcement sources.
The babysitter told police she had put him on the bathroom counter and left the room briefly. Police say the woman told them that the boy fell off the counter and landed in the empty bathtub.
Sources say he had cuts and burns -- including cigarette burns -- on his face and body, burns on his genitals and yellow foam around his mouth.
A source familiar with the case said the babysitter could not explain how the child received those injuries.
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The boy's father had left the child with her in mid-December before he was picked up on a warrant in New Jersey, according to sources. The father remains incarcerated.
The caretaker does not have a history of child abuse or neglect, sources said.
The medical examiner is expected to conduct an autopsy Thursday morning. Police say charges are pending the ruling.
