INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD is investigating the death of a 7-month-old after the child was found unresponsive Sunday morning on the city's east side.
The Marion County coroner said the injuries the baby girl suffered at the Pangea Courts Apartments on Linwood Court, near 10th Street and Emerson Avenue, were intentional and ruled her death a homicide.
According to IMPD, the call first came in as a medical run Sunday around 9 a.m. for an unresponsive child at the apartment complex.
Investigators said that's fairly unusual, so police officers responded along with paramedics. They found a 7-month-old baby girl unconscious, with trauma to her body.
She was rushed to Riley Hospital for Children, where she was pronounced dead.
Police haven't shared the exact injuries to the girl, but said the trauma sent up red flags for investigators, medics and doctors.
The coroner identified the girl as Harmonnie Jones. The coroner has determined the baby's death was a homicide, caused by blunt force injuries.
"This didn't happen from somebody accidentally doing something. There was intent behind this. You know, the actions of another person doing this to a child had no other result but to hurt them," IMPD Sgt. Genae Cook said.
Now, homicide detectives are gathering information from the baby's parents, from neighbors, from anyone who had contact with her, to find out who caused the injuries that killed her.
"Anybody who had contact with the child within the last 24 to 48 hours prior to this incident, they'll be talking to," Cook said. "They want to find out what happened, what led up to this, what type of activity this child had. I mean this is a 7-month-old child. She can't tell us the story right now. Now, it's the detective's job to put that story together — not just for sake of the family involved, but for that baby."
IMPD confirmed the 7-month-old girl had a twin who was inside the apartment at or around the time of the incident. 13News was told that twin brother is safe, and IMPD said the twin was immediately taken into custody by the Department of Child Services.
Police have not shared any information about a possible arrest.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Det. Alisha Bernhardt at the IMPD Child Abuse Office at 317-327-3330 or email her at Alisha.Bernhardt@indy.gov.