Aunt questioned about death of 2 year old
Kaylee Burgess
Last Friday, the shocking results of an autopsy revealed that young Kaylee Burgess had been suffocated and that she had not drowned in a bucket of water as her family had claimed. The child was in the care of her aunt who lives in the Japan area of Ladyville. At the time, Diedra Pratt, the baby’s mother, was being questioned by the police in relation to a fire she allegedly started at the house of her ex, Kevin Burgess, Kaylee’s father. Tonight, the aunt who was in charge of Kaylee is being questioned by the police in the death of the young child who was killed on the eve of her second birthday. Freelance reporter Duane Moody has been following this story and has an update.
Duane Moody, Reporting
In a shocking twist in the story of the sudden death of Kaylee Burgess—just two days before her second birthday, an autopsy on her body revealed on Friday that the toddler was suffocated; and that she had not drowned as reported by her family. The initial reaction from the police, however, was that foul play was involved. That sparked an investigation.
Fitzroy Yearwood
Insp. Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer [File: Sept. 6th, 2012]
“The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a one year and eleventh month old child. What we can say is that this all stems from an incident that occurred two days ago where Deidra Pratt was detained after she has been accused of burning down the house of her ex-common-law, Kevin Burgess. She was in custody yesterday and left the child in the custody of her sister and mother and when she was released she found the child allegedly or apparently drowned. We are waiting for doctor Estradabran’s post-mortem results for us to know whether or not that child actually died from drowning. But I can tell you off the bat that we do suspect foul play in the death of this child.”
And today, the aunt, known only as Saphira, was taken into custody by the Ladyville officers in connection with the death of baby Kaylee. Grandmother, Caroline Quilter says that the post mortem showed that Kaylee had eaten shortly before she died.
Caroline Quilter, Grandmother of Deceased
“When I looked on little Kaylee, it didn’t look like Kaylee to me. Her whole feature was changed and she was blue; her mouth was dark blue and her nails were also blue. According to Doctor Estradabran, it showed that Kaylee died at about around six but the investigation continues because of the food that was still on Kaylee little stomach. You know I don’t want to go into the investigation, but with the food on her stomach, it seems like Kaylee dead earlier than six. I know that if you eat to a certain time, the food takes at least three hours to digest and the food didn’t digest in her stomach.”
Monica Bodden, 7 News
“So they found what inside her stomach?”
Caroline Quilter
“They found some carrots and some okra settled inside her little stomach.”
Quilter is the mother of Kevin Burgess, the father of Kaylee. It was initially reported that he was under investigation for kidnapping Kaylee; but that was immediately struck out since Burgess was in detention when Kaylee allegedly went missing. Quilter says the family wants justice.
Caroline Quilter
Caroline Quilter
“We don’t want to do no speculation right now but the thing that concerns us right now is that we want to know the exact time that Kaylee died because of the food that had settled on her stomach; because that would have been a little bit after lunch. We don’t want to say the mother knows anything about it, but we took her off the bus after lunch—probably that would be around one-thirty. If Kaylee died six o’clock in the evening, we want to know why the food is still on her stomach? We trust that the police will do their best for us to get justice for little Kaylee. I mean she was innocent; she was just a baby and we leave everything to them. We leave everything in their hand and we trust in god. So far god has never failed us and he promised us that he will never fail us. So justice will take place for little Kaylee.”
Kaylee was laid to rest on Sunday. Duane Moody for News Five.
What a terrible ordeal for baby Kaylee, RIP.
I hope the police catch the murderer and that the baby-killer hangs.
that is how Estradabran determines the time of death, by the food in someones stomach. I think this man is definitely not a pathologist. he is a quack. I bet you nothing he says can hold up in an international court of law. he is a JOKE.
Really, for once what Estradaban said about the food digestion does make since, ask a 5th grader about the digestion process & he will tell you the same. What we are looking for is the exact time of DEATH. RIP Kaylee.
REALLY….. there is a reason why people go to school……
and are trained forensic experts….. Estradabran is an authority in the matter…. I guess his word, with his qualifications and many years of experience, will hold 1000x more than YOUR opinion in an international court of law!!!….
….so please dont bet on it!!!!
I don’t want to dump on the parents who surely feel the pain of their child’s death irregardless of their own problems with each other. However, I need to ask why this couple had children in such quick succession (3 yrs, 2 yrs (Kaylee) and a five month old baby. Surely, in this day and age, we know better about the benefits of responsible birth control and family planning. Kaylee was beautiful and it’s tragic that someone wanted to end her brief time on earth. RIP.