Oct. 29--A week after an 8-year-old girl was found dead in her Far South Side home, the medical examiner's office has determined the third-grader died of asphyxiation due to hanging.
In a brief statement Thursday, the office also said it has ruled out homicide in the death of Cherish Foster but released no other details.
Police say they were called to the girl's home in the 9200 block of South LaSalle Street around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and found Cherish lying on her back on her bedroom floor, blood on her chest and on the side of her mouth. The girl was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The girl's mother, Carmella Evans, told police she was alerted by her 7-year-old son and found Cherish hanging from a cloth belt that was wrapped around her neck and around a bar in the closet of her bedroom.
"I took her down. I didn't know what to do. I called 911. I took off the belt," Evans told the Tribune.
Preliminary information from police indicated the death was being investigated as a possible suicide. As a precaution, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said it placed two other children with a family member while the investigation continued. The department said it had no prior contact with the family.
Evans told the Tribune she believes her daughter's death was an accident, explaining the girl liked to play with belts and ropes.
"My baby didn't do this on purpose," she said. "She was playing. It was an accident."
