Two-year-old toddler David Conde Jr. recently starved to death after his father, David Conde Sr., suffered a heart attack in their upstate, NY apartment.
The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office announced that Conde Jr. died of starvation after Conde Sr. died from a heart attack stemming from “cardiovascular disease,” NBC News reported. Their cause of death had been revealed nine months after police discovered their deceased bodies at their upstate, NY home on Feb. 15.
“It is believed that Mr. Conde passed away first, and the child was not able to obtain any nourishment after his father passed,” police said. They were reportedly last seen alive on Jan. 22.
Conde Jr.’s death was officially ruled an accident.
Authorities were called to Serenity Manor Apartments in February after they were alerted that David Sr. hadn’t contacted his family for over a week. When officers arrived at the scene, they had to break into the apartment as the door was deadbolt locked. Their apartment was reportedly intact, but Ontario County Sheriff’s Lt. David Cirencione noted that it was cold due to the heat not being on. Deputies were shocked to find Conde Sr.’s body on the bed with Conde Jr.’s nearby.
“There were no signs of a struggle in the residence,” Cirencione said. “We do not have any reason to believe anybody else was in the apartment when these two passed away…We just honestly do not know what caused their deaths at this time…We want to do everything we can to get answers for the family so they can get closure…It was a very difficult scene for us to work, for all the first responders that had to go in there. This isn’t something we see every day. It’s not pleasant. It was a very disturbing scene.”
The NY father reportedly had custody of his two-year-old son, as the toddler’s mother was absent from his life. According to David, Jr.’s obituary, he was born with a medical condition and “recently learned to walk, following many surgeries and months of casts and rehabilitation.” His family called him “a beautiful baby boy with curly locks, that had a determined smile and sweet disposition.”