Las Vegas police investigate death of baby
Las Vegas police homicide detectives are investigating the death of a 14-month-old girl.
Relatives identified the girl Sunday night as Dyon Johnson.
Police said she died at University Medical Center from "extensive injuries." They were not more specific.
No arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon, police said.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department responded to UMC at 11:52 p.m. Friday while the infant was still alive. A police source said Dyon died shortly after midnight Saturday.
Homicide detectives and detectives with the department's abuse and neglect detail are investigating.
The child was under the supervision of a caregiver at the time of her injuries, police said. There were also several people present in the caregiver's home when the child was hurt.
The infant's mother and grandmother, who were grieving together late Sunday at the Playa Vista Apartment Homes, on East Bonanza Road near Pecos Road, said the child was in the care of her godmother before her death.
They said they suspect that Dyon was injured when she fell down concrete stairs, but a police source said that wasn't the case.
Dyon's mother, Jannett Simms, said the baby's godmother lives at the complex. Simms does not live at the complex, but her mother, Evelyn Simms, does.
Jannett Simms said it wasn't unusual for her or Dyon's godmother to drop off their children at the other's home. Both women have young children. Dyon was supposed to spend the night with her godmother the day she was severely injured, she said.
Simms said she was devastated by her child's death.
"God needed a pure soul for an emergency and she's on a bigger task than me," Jannett Simms said.
She said Dyon's godmother was also taking care of her own three children the night Dyon was injured.
Both Jannett Simms and Evelyn Simms said Dyon was a happy child who brought joy to everyone she encountered.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
