Frantic Mom Asked For Help After Toddler Found Dead, Source Says

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The desperate mother knocked on door after door. The one who finally answered was shocked by the noise, and hesitant to open the door.

“She was slamming on the door," the woman recalled. But when she did answer, she saw the mother standing there. The reason for the frantic knocking became clear: She was holding a dead child in her arms.

When authorities arrived Thursday at this quiet Gloucester Township neighborhood, they performed CPR on the boy, but efforts were unsuccessful. The child was pronounced dead on the scene just after noon, less than a half hour after the mother came knocking on the woman's door.

The toddler's death is now under investigation by police.

A close family friend, initially identified as the mother's boyfriend, is a person of interest in the case, police tell NBC10. That report said an autopsy was completed Friday. And while investigators have not yet revealed how the toddler died, they do not believe it was of natural causes.

The toddler’s face was discolored, but it wasn't immediately evident if there were any other bruises or injuries because he was wearing clothes, the neighbor who saw the child said.

As she sat in her home on Marcia Court Thursday night, the same neighbor recalled the mother trying to catch her breath as she spoke to her earlier that day. The mother told her neighbor that she had been preparing for work when she went to check on her 18-month-old boy, who had been napping in his crib.

When she discovered he was unresponsive, the mother said she rushed to seek help from her neighbors. She couldn't call 911 because her cell phone had died, she told neighbors. She also asked if anyone in the house knew CPR. So the neighbor called 911, and she and her friend began giving the toddler CPR.

No one else was home at the time of the toddler's death. The mother has two other children, who were both in school, the neighbor told Patch.

Another neighbor who lives across the street told 6ABC he was heartbroken for the family. Mark Nerone said he saw the family outside all the time, and they seemed to be "great with the kids."

On Thursday night, police cars were lined up along Hickstown Road at the corner adjacent to the scene, and the front yard was sectioned off with police tape. Authorities returned to the street to continue their investigation on Friday, sources said.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact Camden County Prosecutor's Office Detective James Brining at 856-225-8439 or Gloucester Township Police Detective Joseph McGuire at 856-228-4500. Tips may also be emailed to ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.

Photo credit: Anthony Bellano