87-19 Elmhurst Ave.
Jan. 11, 2017 Staff Report
An Elmhurst woman was indicted for murder by a grand jury today after allegedly strangling her 15-month old daughter inside her apartment earlier this month, announced Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Shangbo Xiangshengjie, 33, allegedly strangled her young daughter, Sanggye Lhakyi, on January 3 and then called and reported herself that same day.
The grand jury indicted her for one count of second-degree murder and two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and if found guilty, faces 25 years to life in prison.
“This is truly a very sad case in which a fifteen-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.”
According to court documents, Xiangshengjie called 911 around 6 p.m. on January 3 and reported that she had murdered her daughter in their 87-19 Elmhurst Avenue apartment earlier that day.
She allegedly told authorities that she strangled her daughter around 1 p.m. with a phone charger and piece of fabric until the girl was unresponsive, and did not try to revive her or keep her alive in any way until she called 911 hours later.
A preliminary autopsy by the medical examiner showed that the girl suffered a deep ligature furrow around the neck and widespread petechiae hemorrhages of the eyes and face, which is consistent with homicide by ligature strangulation.
The defendant has been hospitalized since January 3, and will be arraigned at a later date at the Queens Supreme Court.
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One Comment
Domestic Violence is the most important issue of the 21st Century. 9 billion people on earth will experience this pattern of abuse in their lifetimes–8 billion women and 1 billion men. I don’t know this lady’s case. But I am guessing she suffered from Postpartum Depression and would not have harmed her daughter if she were in her right mind. The article says she called the police to report her action after killing her daughter. I just wish she had called foster care services to take her daughter away, or given her daughter to a family member before killing her and/or had gotten treatment for the depression and any other mental issue she suffered with before it came to this. This is a very complex issue without easy answers but reporting on it and raising awareness is a step in the right direction.