Death of 1-year-old girl under investigation in Port Jervis
Police say the girl was found unconscious and wasn’t breathing on Saturday at a residence on Hornbeck Avenue.
The death of a 1-year-old baby girl in Port Jervis Saturday is hitting doubly hard for the community following the death of a newborn on the same block five years earlier.
Port Jervis police say in the most recent tragedy, the child was found unresponsive at a residence on Hornbeck Avenue around 1:35 p.m. Dec. 28 and wasn’t breathing when they arrived.
The small, dead-end street is the same location where a newborn was killed by her mother in 2019. An official source close to both investigations confirms to News 12 that the mother in that case, Nicole Layman, lived in the same multifamily home where this latest tragedy happened. Layman remains incarcerated.
It’s not clear if the families are related, but News 12 is told the cases are not. Police haven’t said what caused the toddler’s death, but an official source says the child had been sick with congestion.
Loved ones say the family is grief-stricken by the child’s loss.
“She was a sweetheart, and it’s really hard,” says family friend and neighbor Joseph Brink. “It’s a shame what happened. Hold your loved ones and keep them close.”
Brink says he was inside the child’s home when the emergency unfolded. Port Jervis police say a neighbor was performing CPR when they called to help and that rescuers also tried to save the girl’s life. The child was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to police.
The baby’s grandfather, William Callas, contacted News 12 by email and says his son loved the little girl named Olivia and is “shattered along with the baby’s mother.”
Port Jervis police say Child Protective Services was notified and that autopsy and toxicology results are pending.
