The 8-year-old girl who was found dead in her Chicago home last week died of asphyxiation due to hanging, the medical examiner’s office has determined.
Homicide has been ruled out in Foster’s death, the office also said.
Carmella Evans, the mother of Foster, found her daughter unresponsive and hanging from a cloth belt tied to a bar in a closet in her bedroom last Wednesday around 8:30 p.m. Police were called to the residence in the 9200 block of South LaSalle in the Roseland neighborhood for a report of suicide, but Evans claims that's not what happened.
After Evans found her body, Cherish was rushed to Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
"I just want everyone to know that my baby wasn't trying to kill herself," Evans said last Saturday. "It was just an accident, and I wasn't able to help her as fast as she needed help."
A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Family Services said the department is investigating Carmella Evans for allegations of abuse and neglect, but they added they did not have prior contact with the family. Two children have been placed with another family member under a DCFS-monitored safety plan while the investigation continues, according to the spokesperson.
The Chicago Police Department and DCFS are each conducting investigations into the death.
