By Gina Martinez
An Elmhurst mother who confessed to killing her 15-month-old daughter earlier this month was arraigned at her hospital bed on a murder charge, the Queens district attorney said.
Shangbo Xiangshengjie, 33, who has been hospitalized at Elmhurst Hospital Center since Jan. 3, was arraigned via a two-way video with the Queens Criminal Courthouse in Kew Gardens, DA Richard Brown said. She was charged with second- degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, Brown said.
According to court documents Xiangshengjie called 911 Jan. 3 and told the operator she had murdered her 15-month-old daughter, Sanggye Lhakyi, earlier that day. Xiangshengjie allegedly admitted to police that at 12 p.m. she strangled her daughter with a phone charger and a piece of fabric until she became unresponsive and she did not offer any aid or call anyone for help until dialing 911 six hours later, the Queens DA said.
“This is truly a very sad case in which a 15-month-old baby lost her life allegedly at the hands of her own mother – the woman who was supposed to nurture and care for her,” Brown said. “If the allegations prove true, the defendant will have to live the rest of her life knowing that her actions and hers alone were responsible for the death of her child.”
Xiangshengjie faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. She is currently being held without bail and was set to return to court on Feb. 8
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
