Bronx Woman Charged With Murder in Death of Her 6-Year-Old Daughter

A Bronx woman has been charged with murder in the death of her 6-year-old daughter, who was found bruised and unconscious at her family’s Bronx apartment last year, law enforcement authorities said.

The woman, Lynija Eason Kumar, 27, was also charged with two counts of manslaughter in the death of the girl, Jalayah Eason, who had bruises on her wrists and torso when police officers arrived at her home on May 26, 2023, officials said.

The cause of death was unclear at the time, but the New York City medical examiner’s office classified it as a homicide in February. Jalayah died as a result of blunt-force injuries, malnourishment and positional asphyxia, a spokeswoman for the office said on Friday.

A lawyer for Ms. Eason Kumar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jalayah died after Ms. Eason Kumar tied the girl’s hands and feet together, hung her in a closet and struck her repeatedly with a hard object, according to court documents. When police officers found Jalayah, her body was bruised and scarred, there were ligature marks on her wrists, the documents say.

At the time of her daughter’s death, Ms. Eason Kumar was charged with endangering the welfare of her other children, an 8-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, and the city’s Administration for Children’s Services took custody of the two.

Ms. Eason Kumar was at a hospital on Friday and was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, according to a spokeswoman for the Bronx district attorney.