What to Know
- A 10-year-old girl and her mother were found dead in their Bronx home over the weekend; it's still not clear how they died
- Police said Tuesday their case had been ruled a double homicide; the medical examiner is working to determine a cause of death
- A 32-year-old man found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound nearby has been charged with criminal possession of a firearm
The case of a 10-year-old girl and her mother who were found dead in their Bronx home over the weekend has been ruled a homicide, police said Tuesday, though it's still not clear how the pair was killed.
A man, just identified as 32-year-old Ezort Stevens, whose home address in Belmont is the same one listed for the victims and was said to be the mother's boyfriend, had been found critically injured with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head nearby, though investigators had said the 10-year-old, Heaven Ross, and her mom, Linda Manigualt, had not been shot.
The NYPD also said there were no signs of outward trauma to their bodies. The medical examiner's investigation into a cause of death is ongoing.
Stevens was charged this week with two counts of criminal possession of a firearm. There was no immediate update on his condition Tuesday, but the Associated Press reported that police planned to charge him with the killings. Information on an attorney for him was unclear late Tuesday morning.
The victims were discovered shortly after 1:30 p.m. Saturday when three other children who were at the home at the time called a relative, who alerted authorities. Those children were not said to be harmed.
Neighbors said they lived on the top floor of a three-story home and they were new to the neighborhood.
