The father of a toddler who spent five days with her mother’s corpse inside a homeless shelter is suing New York City’s Department of Homeless Services for five million in damages.
The New York Post reports Quraan Laboy, 31, has filed a petition in Manhattan Supreme Court against the city and the Department of Homeless Services. His 15-month-old daughter, Lyric Laboy, who he shared with Shelbi Westlake, 26, was found on July 25 alone with her mother’s corpse after Westlake died of an accidental overdose at a homeless shelter at 325 East 104th St. in Manhattan.
Lyric was “covered in human feces” and “badly dehydrated,” according to court documents obtained by the outlet. Quarran says his daughter has not fully recovered from the traumitizing incident.
“I don’t know how long she will suffer with this. She has a lot of separation anxiety,” Laboy said. Laboy’s attorney, Seth Harris, alleges Lyric “routinely slaps her dad while he’s sleeping to make sure he’s alive.”
At the time of Westlake’s death, she and Laboy were seperated. Westlake and Lyric had been staying at the homeless center for a few months at the time she was found dead of an accidental overdose.
“Allowing an infant to remain with her dead mother for five days unnoticed not only highlights the indifference and lack of humanity shown to those most in need but exhibits complete malfeasance by the City of New York and Department of Homeless Services,” Allison Keenan, another of Laboy’s attorneys, said.
