McAllen police investigate child's suspicious death

McALLEN - Police continue to investigate the suspicious death of a baby girl.

McAllen police learned of the baby's death Friday afternoon when the child's parents took her to a doctor's office in Pharr, said police Chief Victor Rodriguez.

The girl, who was about 20 months old, had been suffering from an illness at the time of her death, police said.

Whether any negligence by the child's parents may have contributed to her death remains under investigation, Rodriguez said.

"The initial evaluation at this point in time tends to indicate this child was very ill and that illness led to her passing," he said. "Where we will evaluate further is (whether) some of those illnesses (had) become aggravated as a result of negligence."

A criminal pathologist continues to test the child's body for viruses that may have caused her death, including the H1N1 swine flu, Rodriguez said.

Any criminal charges that may be filed in the case - as well as final test results of the girl's body - will take several months to complete, the police chief said.