Tragic NYC newborn’s family says she died from SIDS, puppy was ‘put down’ — after ME confirms pit bull didn’t kill her
A 1-month-old Queens girl died from sudden infant death syndrome before the family pit bull mauled her face in a tragic incident this week, the child’s parents claimed in an interview with The Post.
The couple — whose six-week-old pit bull mix named Bella “had been put down” after the horrific incident — insisted they had nothing to do with her death.
“I did not kill my child,” mom Lillian Burton said in an interview Thursday.
The baby’s stepfather, who asked to be identified only as Christopher said they didn’t know what happened to the baby until an autopsy this week.
“Our baby was alive when we all went to sleep. That is the last thing we know,” he said.
“Our baby died of SIDS, from sudden infant death syndrome,” he said. “She also had medical issues. She had a heart murmur. The dog did eat the baby’s face. It was put down.”
He said he had gotten Bella just two weeks earlier for his son.
Authorities initially believed little Kiyanna Winfield was killed by Bella – until the city medical examiner revealed Wednesday that the baby was already dead when the pup began biting her face.
“We think that the dog is so young that it didn’t understand, but it was trying to help the baby because it only targeted the mouth and the nose,” Kiyanna’s stepdad said.
“We think maybe the baby was gasping for air and the puppy didn’t realize it was a part of her, so the puppy was trying to clear whatever was on her face to breathe,” he said. “We don’t think the puppy was purposely hurting our child.”
The Medical Examiner has not yet publicly released a cause of death.
The parents said they woke to the gruesome scene shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday, with sources saying a “substantial portion” of Kiyanna’s face had been mauled.
“I feed my kids well,” the girl’s mom, Lillian Burton, said Thursday. “They’re well fed. They’re well changed. They’re well put together.
“I take real good care of my kids,” Burton said. “For someone to say my kids are malnourished, that isn’t true.”
“She died of SIDS … and then the dog ate her.”
The couple said they’ve now been locked out of their apartment at the Queensbridge Houses public housing complex.
Meanwhile, police said Thursday that no criminality was suspected in the baby’s death pending further investigation.
