ORLANDO, Fla. — The death of a 1-year-old girl at a hotel in Orlando is now being investigated as a homicide.
The baby was found dead Saturday afternoon at the Parkwood Inn on West Colonial Drive near John Young Parkway.
Police said they have very little information, and no one in the area knew the girl's parents.
"When I came outside, I saw the officer doing CPR to the baby," said witness Stetson Robinson. "It hurt, because I'm a father. When you see stuff like that, it hurts you."
"It's hard. It's hard for everybody," motel resident Linda White.
Robinson said he couldn't believe what was happening as he watched the child being taken away by ambulance.
"Nobody knows the people. They just moved in," he said. "Stuff like that should not happen to a baby. You don't expect things like that to happen to a baby, an innocent child."
Hotel managers said the woman and child moved in on Wednesday, and she was often seen outside with the baby.
"I've seen the mother walk back and forth with the baby five times a day. I never saw nobody bring harm (to) or mistreat that baby," motel resident JoAnne Guastaferri said.
"I'm in shock. I don't know what to believe. I have seen a lot of bad things happen in this neighborhood, I just, I don't know what to think any more, you know?" White said.
The Department of Children and Families is also investigating. Officials with DCF said they have no record of responses to the property prior to the baby's death.
Investigators said they are interviewing the people involved in the case.
WFTV
