The death of a baby girl last fall in Leesburg has been ruled a homicide.
9-month-old Devyn Ellis showed signs of abuse early in October after she was airlifted to Children's Hospital, where doctors tried to save her, according to a search warrant affadavit filed in the case. That document suggested Devyn's death was suspicious.
Doctors found Devyn had injuries "consistent with blunt force trauma," according to the document, and that the baby had "multiple broken ribs, some which appeared to be old injuries that were healing."
A detective wrote that the baby's family "could not provide a valid explanation for why the injuries had occurred."
The family told police that Devyn's "ribs were broken because she likes to hit herself in the chest," the document reads. The baby's father had told police that he was feeding Devyn on Oct. 3 when she went limp.
Devyn died Oct. 5.
Now, the District of Columbia has ruled Devyn's death a homicide, saying she suffered blunt impact head trauma.
No charges have been filed in the case. Leesburg Police issued a statement, saying:
"A thorough and complete investigation is being conducted by the Leesburg Police Department in coordination with the Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney's Office. We are prepared to move forward with the case however we have not received the official written report from the District of Columbia’s Medical Examiner’s Office. The case remains under active investigation."
Devyn's parents had a new baby girl last week. Devyn's father is barred from seeing the baby by a protective order.
