Saint Paul homicide investigators are trying to determine what led to a child’s death during the early morning hours of Sunday Jan. 10 in the city’s Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood.
Saint Paul officers responded to an address on the 1000 block of E. 3rd Street after a male called our non-emergency number and hung up. Officers arrived at approx. 2:30 a.m. and spoke to the father who called. He told the officers that he thought his 3-year-old daughter was dead on the back porch. Officers immediately went to the porch to find a 3-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. Saint Paul Fire Paramedics responded and pronounced her dead.
Officers secured the scene and homicide investigators were notified. The mother and father were transported to headquarters to be interviewed by investigators. Five other children were in the home at the time. They ranged in age from 9 months to 11 years old. They were all placed into the custody of Ramsey County Child Protection.
After being interviewed by investigators the mother, Ciasha Lee, 29, and father, John Lee, 42, were both booked into the Ramsey County Jail on suspicion of Murder.
The department’s Forensics Services Unit will be processing the scene to find physical evidence that will tell the story of what led to this death.
The Ramsey County medical examiner will positively identify the victim and determine an exact cause of death. This information, along with any updates on the case, will be released on the Saint Paul Police Department Twitter account, @sppdmn.
This is the first homicide of 2021 in Saint Paul.
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