Workers at a New York City homeless shelter were stunned last summer to find a 26-year-old woman lying dead inside one of the units. But the greatest shock of all came moments later, when they discovered that she wasn't actually alone — her 15-month-old toddler was curled up under the bed after being left alone in the room with her mother's corpse for days. Now, the child's father has filed a petition to sue both the city and the shelter for failing to protect the child's health and safety.
Thirty-one-year-old Quraan Laboy is reportedly seeking $5 million in damages.
According to the father's petition, the New York City Department of Homeless Services was responsible for his daughter's health and well-being at the time of her stay last year. But instead, he alleged, workers both neglected the child and failed to follow proper shelter protocols.
After Shelbi Westlake accidentally overdosed her 15-month-old baby was reportedly under a bed with the corpse in a #NYC shelter for days before workers found them. The father of the baby, Quraan Laboy, plans to sue the city. https://t.co/STqnH3SiM7
— Breaking Daily News (@BreakingDailyN) January 24, 2022
As a result, his daughter, Lyric Laboy, endured unspeakably traumatic circumstances and could have even died herself had she been discovered days or even just hours later.
The shocking discovery was made on July 25, 2021, at the East River Family Center in Manhattan.
The mother, who has since been identified as 26-year-old Shelbi Westlake, had checked into the East 104th Street shelter several months prior to her death. Laboy's lawyer, Seth Harris, said Westlake and Laboy had recently separated, which is why the young mother was living at the shelter with her daughter in what's been described as a private, "apartment-like unit."
Because of this, no one inside the building realized that Westlake had even died until someone in a neighboring unit complained of a "foul odor" coming from Westlake's room, according to CNN. After workers checked the log books, it appeared that the mother had last signed into the shelter on July 19 — six days before she was found dead.
By the time the toddler was found, she was said to be living in squalid conditions.
In addition to being alone and uncared for, Lyric was also badly dehydrated, in need of food, and "covered in human feces." She was also riddled with "horrific" diaper rash that still hasn't completely healed, and doctors noted that she'd lost at least seven pounds during the ordeal, according to the New York Post.
Moments after finding the little girl, workers quickly dialed 911, and within minutes, first responders rushed to the scene. But right away, it was clear there was no saving the 26-year-old mother, who was pronounced dead before her body even left the shelter.
Lyric was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was evaluated and treated for dehydration.
At the same time, a medical examiner was beginning an autopsy on her mother, which would conclude that Westlake had died from an accidental drug overdose. It was also then that a coroner determined the mother had died some five days prior to being discovered — a fact that still baffles investigators.
“It’s amazing that she’s alive,” Harris recently told the Post.
“Mi hija tiene que lidiar con esto mentalmente por el resto de su vida”, afirmó Quraan Laboy (31), alegando ante la Corte Suprema de Manhattan que la bebé estuvo cinco dÃas abandonada en un refugio junto a su madre muerta 🔎🚑 https://t.co/0XvjUJtIVr pic.twitter.com/oF5JhH4M6o
— El Diario Nueva York (@eldiariony) January 23, 2022
That said, the circumstances Lyric endured after her mother's death cannot be brushed under the rug, her father's legal team argued.
"Allowing an infant to remain with her dead mother for five days unnoticed not only highlights the indifference and lack of humanity shown to those most in need, but exhibits complete malfeasance by the City of New York and Department of Homeless Services,” added Allison Keenan, another of Laboy’s lawyers.
In response, representatives with the agency have insisted that Lyric was not left alone for five days.
But if that's truly the case, the agency has either not been able to prove how long the little girl was left alone or has not yet made that information available to the public.
Either way, it appears that the toddler is still haunted by her mother's death. According to Laboy, Lyric often "slaps" him in the face when he's sleeping just to make sure that he's still alive.
“She always wakes up in the middle of the night, she’s kicking, she’s fighting, saying, ‘Mommy,’" the father recently told the Post. "I look at her and I just start tearing up sometimes.
"I don't know how long she will suffer with this," he added, noting that Lyric "has a lot of separation anxiety."
To Laboy, it appears obvious that his daughter is suffering from considerable emotional and psychological trauma — and now, he simply wants someone to be held accountable for it.
More than six months later, Westlake's family is still trying to make sense of what happened inside that shelter.
The young mother was originally from Oil City, Pennsylvania, and is described as the kind of person who deeply enjoyed children and "could not wait to be a mother herself," according to an online obituary for her.
"She worked briefly at the Child Development Center, as well as Bob Evans, before jetting off to live in New York City," the obituary continued. "There she worked for a time as a music promoter before having her daughter, Lyric. She was well known for her fashion sense and especially her sunglasses."
For now, Laboy says he's been doing his best to be there for his little girl, who lost so much at a tragically young age.
The Manhattan dad said he "had to drop everything" after Westlake's death last year and was even forced to leave his job at the New York City Housing Authority to care for his daughter full time. But despite how difficult it's been, the father knows he made the right decision.
"She’s my number one priority right now," said Laboy, who added that the real tragedy is that his daughter "has gotta deal with this mentally for the rest of her life."
Source: cafemom.com
