Quraan Laboy, 31, is suing New York City’s Department of Homeless Services for $5 million in damages. This comes after his toddler spent five days with her mother’s deceased body inside of a shelter.
On July 25, Shelbi Westlake, 26, was discovered deceased after an accidental overdose. Lyric Laboy, 15-months-old, was found in the room with her.
Lyric could be observed with human feces covering her body and dehydrated. No one had suspected anything until a foul odor came from the room.
Quraan has said that the little girl is still suffering from the incident. “I don’t know how long she will suffer with this. She has a lot of separation anxiety.” His lawyer added that Lyric often slaps her dad while he is sleeping to ensure that he is alive.
At the time of the overdose, Westlake and Lyric had been residing at the homeless shelter for a few months. The child’s parents were separated.
“Allowing an infant to remain with her dead mother for five days…highlights the indifference and lack of humanity shown to those most in need…,” stated Allison Keenan, a lawyer of the Laboy’s.
The shelter is now required to do nightly wellness checks.
