Police: Queens Mother Charged With Murder After She Admits To Strangling 1-Year-Old Daughter
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A mother was charged with murder Wednesday after she confessed to strangling her 1-year-old daughter inside their Queens home, police said.
Police were called to the third floor apartment on Elmhurst Avenue in Elmhurst around 6 p.m. Tuesday. When officers arrived, they found 1-year-old Sanggye Lhakyi unconscious and unresponsive on a bed, authorities said.
Investigators said 33-year-old Xiangshengjie Shangbo confessed to strangling the girl with a phone charger cord and some sort of religious relic, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported.
Neighbor Lydia Santamaria couldn't believe the disturbing news.
"I was scared. I was shocked," she said.
Police said Shangbo claimed to be upset about family problems in China and wanted to commit suicide. She had also recently lost her job at a Manhattan restaurant.
"It's chilling. When you just told me, I just got chills," Elmhurst resident Jessica Merry said. "It's very sad, it's heartbreaking. There's just so much help out there."
Authorities said Shangbo called 911 and hung up, but a female roommate called 911 a second time. Her husband was at work when the baby was killed.
The Administration for Children's Services could not say if they have a record for the family, but did say, "we are investigating the circumstances leading to this fatality, along with the NYPD."
Neighbors said they sympathize with the girl's father who must now live without his daughter and possibly without his wife.
"He must be totally devastated. I feel sorry for him," Mery said.
Police said it is still not clear why the mother would take her child's life.