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Police Say 9-Month-Old Girl Murdered In Little Village

(STMW) -- A 52-year-old woman was taken into custody Monday morning in connection with the death of a 9-month-old girl in the Little Village neighborhood.

She is suspected of cutting the child in the neck with a circular saw, according to a police department source who added that it is believed the woman wanted to stop the child from crying. Family members said the woman, who had been caring for the child, had been taking antidepressant medication, according to the police source.

Officers responded to an EMS call about 9:30 a.m. in the 2800 block of South Avers, police said.

The baby had "visible signs of trauma" and was pronounced dead on the scene, police said. The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed the death, but did not release additional details.

The woman was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with self-inflicted wounds, police said. Her condition had stabilized.

The relationship between the baby girl and the woman was not immediately available, but police said the incident was domestic in nature.

Ben Llamas, who described himself as the best friend of a man who lived in the home, was waiting outside the home on Avers Monday morning.

He said he and the man work at a grain elevator. They were on the job this morning when his friend got a telephone call.

"He seemed upset. I said, 'You can't drive.' So I brought him here.'"

Llamas said his friend had moved in to that house about a year ago with a woman. Together the couple had a young child, Llamas said.

"At first, he was reluctant, but when the baby came, he fell in love," Llamas said. "He shows us pictures of that baby every day."

The young woman's parents live there as well, Llamas said.

A neighbor said the family live on the second floor of the building, while the owners of the property live on the first floor.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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