Police have launched a murder investigation after a three-year-old girl was found dead at a house in Leeds.
Emergency services were called to Austhorpe Court at around 11:06 on Wednesday following a report of concern for the safety of a young child. The body of the girl was discovered inside the property, police said.
A woman also found at the address has been arrested on suspicion of murder, West Yorkshire Police said in a statement on Thursday. She was taken to hospital where she remains in a stable condition.
The force said they were treating the death as an “isolated incident” and are not seeking anyone else in connection with it. They urged against speculation and asked the community to “let us investigate,” adding they understood the incident would “cause shockwaves” in the community.
“West Yorkshire Police has launched a murder investigation following the death of a child in Leeds,” a statement on their website reads. “It follows a report received at 11.06am yesterday (Wednesday, 30 July) of concern for the safety of a young child.”
Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: “Sadly when emergency services attended at an address on Austhorpe Court, Leeds, yesterday the body of a 3-year-old girl was found inside.
“A woman at the address was taken to hospital for urgent medical attention and remains there today in a stable condition. She has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
"We are treating this as an isolated incident and are not seeking anyone else in connection with it. I understand that such a tragic incident as this will cause shockwaves in the local community and that there will be speculation about what has happened.
“I would ask people to please let us investigate and if you do have any information that you think could assist our enquiries to get in contact with the investigation team.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team via Live Chat online or by calling 101, quoting crime reference 13250433711.
