www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11255807%255E2703,00.html Toddler left in car with corpse
Roland Watson, Washington
November 02, 2004
A TWO-year-old girl is in a critical condition after spending more than four days locked in a car with the body of her murdered mother.
Rosie Batista was severely dehydrated when firefighters broke into the vehicle parked on a busy street in the New York suburb of Queens.
Rosie's mother Cesarina Colon had been beaten and strangled by her partner Leonardo Almonte, who covered her bloodied body with a coat after dragging it to the car.
He strapped the toddler in her carseat and left a bottle of milk just out of her reach. Almonte, a grocery store owner, admitted the killing and has been charged with murder, kidnapping and reckless endangerment.
Police are investigating why the mother and daughter were not found earlier. Twenty-four hours before the horrific discovery, a police car was sent to check the vehicle after a passer-by called emergency services. But officers were not told to look out for the child, and they drove off without getting out of their car.
Almonte confronted Ms Colon in the flat they shared on Saturday, October 23, after she said she wanted to leave and return to Rosie's father. He waited until the early hours of Sunday before placing her body and Rosie in Ms Colon's grey Toyota sports vehicle and driving it 3km before neatly parking it.
In the following days, several people peered into the vehicle but moved on. It was not until Wednesday that a passer-by called 911.
Doctors said Rosie was calm when she was pulled from the car. She had low oxygen levels and low blood pressure, but her condition has improved.