Baby's death in Southwest Philadelphia deemed 'suspicious'

SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Homicide detectives are now calling the death of a baby in Southwest Philadelphia suspicious.

Officers were called to the 5800 block of Willows Avenue around 12:30 p.m. Friday for a report of an injured child.

The child was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and later pronounced dead.

There was no official word from police on the age or sex of the victim, nor any word on the circumstances of the child's death.

One neighbor said the child was a baby boy, about six weeks old.

Neighbors also say the couple who live at the home just moved in a short time ago and kept to themselves. They say they said "hello" to the man who lives there earlier in the day.

"We saw the guy this morning. He leaves to go to work and we say 'hi' and 'bye,' stuff like that. I saw the baby Thursday," said neighbor Patrice Heath.

"He was walking down the steps, and I was like, 'Is your baby sleeping?' He's like 'No,' and pulls up the blanket up. And I was like 'Let me see, what's his name?' He said, 'Omar,' and everything was fine," Heath said.

At this point, no real details of the case have been disclosed.

The one thing detectives did say is that in a case like this with a baby involved, a lot will determine on the results from a medical examiner. That way they have a clearer picture of what happened.

But regardless of what the results show, a weeks old baby has passed, and this tragedy is going to stick in the minds of those in the neighborhood for a very long time.

"I didn't think that would happen ever, especially next door to me. But he was so cute," said Heath.

There is no word from police on the whereabouts of the child's parents.

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