Family of BX girl in jump rope death demands apology

The relatives of a Bronx girl are demanding an apology from the media after medical tests revealed the girl was hanged while playing jump rope, not murdered. A medical examiner ruled Tuesday that 5-year-old

News 12 Staff

Apr 25, 2007, 11:26 PM

Updated 6,437 days ago

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The relatives of a Bronx girl are demanding an apology from the media after medical tests revealed the girl was hanged while playing jump rope, not murdered.
A medical examiner ruled Tuesday that 5-year-old Monet Flugham accidentally hung herself in her family's Bivona Street apartment Sunday. However, media reports swirled that the girl was raped and killed before the autopsy was released. News 12 The Bronx chose to wait for the medical examiner?s results before coming out with any conclusions.
Flugham's aunt, Joyice Williams, says it wasn't just the media scrutiny that upset her family. According to Williams, investigators treated them like suspects. "Kept cursing and yelling at me. Using the F word saying my nephew is a pervert, had sex with Monet and then killed her," Williams said.
Williams says the medical examiner later found an artery had burst in the child's vagina during the accidental hanging. The family is considering hiring a lawyer, saying detectives botched the investigation.
A wake is planned Thursday for the girl and her funeral is scheduled for Friday.
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