The stepmother of a 9-year-old girl found dead in the bathroom of her Richmond Hill home on Friday night has been charged with her child’s murder, police announced on Saturday.
Shamdai Arjun, 55, faces murder charges for allegedly strangling Ashdeep Kaur, 9, to death in the third violent tragedy to grip south Queens this month.
Kaur’s body was found unconscious in the bathtub of her home on 112th Street near 95th Avenue at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 19. Officers from the 102nd Precinct responded along with EMS units, who pronounced the child dead at the scene.
The young girl’s father, overcome with grief, collapsed and had to be assisted by paramedics.
Citing an eyewitness inside the home, the New York Daily News reported, Arjun was observed entering the bathroom with Kaur earlier on Friday. Arjun allegedly left the bathroom alone a short time later and claimed that Kaur was still inside taking a shower.
An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner concluded that Kaur died of strangulation.
Arjun was reportedly not at the home when police arrived; officers later located her at the home of a nearby friend, the Daily News reported. She was charged after being questioned by the 102nd Precinct Detective Squad.
