• Source:JND
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In a gruesome incident that has shaken the Bronx community, a 38-year-old mother and her 8-year-old disabled son were discovered dead in their apartment, while her 4-year-old daughter lived for days by herself in filthy conditions on a diet of chocolate, police sources and tearful family members said. The two victims were identified as Lisa Cotton, who struggled with mental illness, and her son Nazir Millien, a premature baby who needed a feeding tube. Their bodies were found dead Friday in a second-story apartment in a Wakefield section building at East 231st Street, following complaints from family members and neighbors about a stench that had been present for days.

Girl Found Alone In Apartment With Corpses

The girl made the horrific find when she went to the apartment of her father's family, who lived there, as instructed by their father Hubert Cotton after their landlord asked him if Lisa had vacated the premises. When the girl entered the apartment, she discovered her little brother lying limp in a chair, not responding, and her youngest sister Promise covered in chocolate, sleeping in their mother's bed. "She picked her up and ran out and called the police,"Hubert Cotton said this to the New York Post. Hubert is now taking care of the other surviving child. "She hasn't talked. She's a baby. She looks at me sometimes, like she knows something."

Cause of Death Still Unknown

There were no signs of trauma on either body, according to the authorities. Initial suspicions are that Lisa Cotton could have had a cardiac arrest due to asthma, and Nazir could have starved to death. The cause of death has not yet been determined. Neighbors informed police that they had not seen the family in almost two weeks and had registered a complaint of "death-like" odor over the past few days. Welfare check had previously been made at the week's start following an anonymous 911 call, but the police did not enter forcibly since there were no obvious indicators of distress at the moment.

Mental Health, ACS Failures Under Scrutiny

Lisa Cotton, by her neighbours and father's account, also had a very long history of mental illness, potentially bipolar, and had a number of scrapes with authorities. In 2021 she was arrested on charges of abandonment of a child after reportedly going erratically haywire with then-infant daughter, swinging at her stroller and burning off a wig on her head. The Administration for Children's Services (ACS) supposedly had an ongoing case with the family. Even with known warning signs and prior incidents—one during which Lisa tried to jump from a rooftop off of her son—no affirmative action had yet been taken.

"She would have episodes," one neighbor said this to the New York Post . "There was a time about a year ago when she was out here ranting and raving about the devil." Other locals were frustrated at the slow reaction and seeming breakdown in the system. "ACS should have done more," said Mark, a neighbor. "They knew she had problems. Why were the kids still with her?"

Community In Mourning, Child In Recovery

The surviving child, Promise, is in stable condition and undergoing evaluation after spending days on her own at the apartment. Relatives and neighbors are grieving the senseless loss of two lives and are now concerned with making sure the young girl receives proper care and attention.

As ACS launches an investigation into the incident, questions are being raised about how such a tragedy could have happened in the face of several warning signs. The case highlights the imperative need for mental health care and more proactive child welfare interventions.