Special needs teen found burned to death in bathtub
A teenage boy was discovered burned to death in a home after his father claimed he fell into a bathtub with hot water.
But the case has been ruled a homicide, police sources told the New York Post on Wednesday.
Police responding to a 911 call found Josiah Green, 18, 'with burns about the body' and unconscious and unresponsive in bed in his apartment in Brooklyn.
Green was pronounced dead at the scene around 6.45am on Sunday, police said.
His father, who has not been named, said that Green fell into the bathtub and was burned by water two days before police arrived, sources said.
Green had cerebral palsy and took medication for his condition. His father cited that as the reason he was not able to give Green medicine for a head cold. The dad said he decided to run the hot water in hopes the steam would help, according to the sources.
The father claimed he went to another room to charge his phone and that he heard a thud. Running back to the bathroom, the dad said he found that his son had fallen off the chair. The father said he moved his son to a bed and applied something on the burns rather than taking him to a hospital for treatment.
Green's dad said he did not call police right after the incident because he got scared, the sources said.
Green had clumps of skin falling off, which was more severe than what would normally happen to someone lying in hot water for a short time frame.
The chief medical examiner's office ruled the cause of Green's death as 'thermal injuries to approximately 90% of body surface area in a person with cerebral palsy due to extreme premature birth'.
Authorities confirmed that Green's death was ruled a homicide on Wednesday morning. However, no one was in custody and suspects were not immediately identified.
Though the death was ruled a homicide, it could have been accidental. Police and the district attorney will decide if they press any charges in the case.
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