A 2-year-old girl found inside a Lansing home Wednesday died of multiple blunt-force injuries, an autopsy revealed.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said the young girl, identified as Jahariah Patterson, was a victim of child abuse. Her death was ruled a homicide, and a murder investgation is underway.
Police were called to the home in the 179th block of Wildwood Avenue at about 2 p.m. for a medical emergency and discovered the girl’s body inside. Jahariah was pronounced dead at the scene.
As neighbors watched police collect evidence at the home throughout the evening, some feared the worst.
“I’m afraid to go to work, I’m afraid to go out of the house. We’re just going to stay inside the house, especially since I have a little one, I’m very, very cautious now,” neighbor Dora Jablonski said.
A team of investigators descended on the empty house Thursday morning and spent some time inside while others searched two huge garbage cans in the alley.
Source: NBCChicago.Com