Thge mother of the baby found dead inside a Westchester bedroom last week allegedly punched her daughter several times in attempts of getting the child to stop crying, prosecutors say.
Dasia Bartee, 26, was ordered held on $50,000 bail in the death of 15-month-old Samia Rose. Bartee was arrested on manslaughter charges on Saturday afte the toddler's "extremely cold" body was found at their Mount Vernon apartment on Friday morning.
Prosecutors asked that Bartee be held on $1 million bail and alleged that she punched the child six to seven times. The trauma caused a lumbar fracture and internal bleeding, and authorities alleged that the mother then rocked the baby back and forth to exacerbate the injury.
Authorities previously said that the child had significant facial injuries and may have been placed in a freezer at some point.
An attorney for Bartee declined to comment to NBC 4 New York, but friends said that the 26-year-old was a good mother who never hurt her children. Others shouted "We love you, D" and "You are innocent" as she entered the courtroom for an arraignment.
""She loves her kids very much," said Nadine Baileyo. "She would never do anything like that, I used to live with her. From the bottom of my heart, my friend is innocent. She would never do that."
Prosecutors, meanwhile, said that the woman has an extensive history with child protective services. Her other two children, ages 6 and 9 have been placed with the agency.
