NEW YORK — Authorities have arrested a mother and father in connection with the death over the weekend of their 3-month-old daughter who was found dead inside a garbage bag in a wooded area near a Bronx freeway, New York City Police said. The medical examiner’s office ruled the case a homicide.
The baby’s father, 23-year-old Damion Comager of Louisiana, was arrested Monday and charged with murder, manslaughter and concealment of a body, police said. For her part, the mother, 20-year-old Ivana Paolozzi from Switzerland, was charged with concealing a body and obstructing the investigation.
Both lived in a shelter in University Avenue and apparently they met in Europe a year ago. Paolozzi arrived in the United States in December and gave birth in February, authorities said. It was not clear how long they had been in the shelter.
Sources confirmed that shelter staff said the two had been there with a newborn, but suddenly left on May 16 without the baby. According to law enforcement officials, that was two days after Comager allegedly killed baby Genevieve, though he did not confess to her father for another 13 days, they said. The baby’s grandfather then requested a welfare check the day after that call, which is what led to the grisly discovery.
According to sources, Comager allegedly told authorities that he shook the baby and hit her because she wouldn’t stop crying. She ended up dying, and the couple allegedly disposed of the body together, they added. A stroller used to carry the baby’s body to the area next to the pedestrian bridge was found nearby, law enforcement officials said.
The baby, identified as Genevieve Comager, was found Sunday at about 8:30 p.m. inside a garbage bag inside a backpack in some brush near the highway. Major Deegan Expressway and 161st street.
Both parents were transported Monday night to the Bronx Criminal Court from Precinct 44.
The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death, but confirmed that she had been murdered.
It was not immediately clear if Comager had an attorney. Paolozzi asked for one when he was initially questioned by New York police, sources said, but the name of his attorney was not immediately released Tuesday morning.
The case is under investigation.
2023-05-30 13:15:41
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