Canarsie family claims dead body was not picked up due to negligence from medical examiner's office

A Canarsie family claims that their mother had laid dead in their home for 24 hours due to delay from the medical examiner's office as coronavirus sweeps across New York City.

News 12 Staff

Mar 31, 2020, 2:24 AM

Updated 1,495 days ago

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A Canarsie family claims that their mother had laid dead in their home for 24 hours due to delay from the medical examiner's office as coronavirus sweeps across New York City.
Lakisha Brian says her mother, 49-year-old Sophia Dawkins, appeared healthy to the family but was sick for about a week. She says Dawkins visited a doctor last Tuesday and had a follow-up scheduled for Monday.
Brian says her sister screamed a little after 8 p.m. Sunday, saying that their mother stopped breathing. When she went to perform CPR, her mother's body was cold to the touch.
They called 911, who responded but say they were told to wait four to five hours for the medical examiner. Nearly 24 hours later, the body was still at the home.
The family says staff from the medical examiner's office showed up around 6:30 p.m. Monday, but told Brian they had to wait for a truck and left.
Brian says they tried calling 311 several times as well, but were redirected several times. She says funeral homes told her they can't lay Dawkins to rest until the medical examiner responded.
The NYPD tells News 12 that it has no information on this particular case at this time.
In relation to the death of Caridad Santiago, the MTA cleaner, the NYPD says that proper protocol was not followed and that the matter is under internal review.
 


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