In the early hours of 23rd May 2023, Lynija Eason called 911 and told the dispatcher that she’d found her daughter, Jalayah Eason, cold and not breathing inside a closet in their apartment. Responders found Eason performing CPR on Jalayah. They rushed Jalayah to Lincoln Hospital, where she died an hour later.
Jalayah Eason’s cause of death hasn’t been established; she had bruises on her body and wrists
The medical examiner has yet to reveal Jalayah Eason’s cause of death. If the medical examiner declares Jalayah’s death a homicide, authorities may charge Eason with murder.
A neighbor speaking to The New York Post said he heard Jalayah begging for her life shortly before Eason called emergency services. “At 3:42 in the morning that girl was screaming,” Dennis Revira, an upstairs neighbor, said. “She was screaming for dear life. She was screaming like hell. She kept saying ‘stop, stop, stop’. You could hear thumps, bro.”
Prosecutors have charged Eason with two counts of child endangerment. They allege she neglected and harmed her other two children, 8-year-old Jezheir and 3-year-old Jelyenn.
The evidence paints Eason, the children’s primary caregiver, as an abusive parent. The complaint filed by NYPD Detective Frankie Hernandez said that the two children had cuts, scars, and rashes. Fernandez wrote that Jezhier had ‘countless small lacerations in various stages of healing on his back, scalp, arms and legs’, a cut on his forehead, and a deep gash on his scalp.
He added that Jelyenn had a long scar on her waist and a ‘widespread discolored rash to her inner thigh and buttocks.’ Fernandez said the apartment was littered with soiled clothing, garbage, and open food containers. The complaint stated that the cabinets and refrigerators housed rotten food, and insects infested the home.
The New York Times reports that Jezheir’s school reported that he arrived with a swollen face and told the teacher that Eason had assaulted him for drinking out of the sink. Per the outlet, the school reported that Jezheir frequently missed school and wore the same urine-smelling clothes for days at a time.
A caseworker visited the home and found no marks on the brother, the outlet states. Eason reportedly stated she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but wasn’t receiving medication. Jezheir allegedly confirmed that he felt safe and comfortable with Eason. The Administration of Children’s Services eventually closed the case.
Eason, who told police that no other adult lives in her apartment, appears guilty of neglecting her kids. However, neighbor Teyana Crawford painted Eason in a different light. Crawford told CBS News: “Never did I think I would be standing here right now. She was so sweet, always showing me love, showing affection, always giving me a hug. Those things I will never forget.”