A suspect in the vicious beating of a Bronx woman in her room at Lincoln Hospital who later died was in the custody of the hospital’s police force, but was cut loose after prosecutors decided not to move forward with charges without additional evidence, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.
Earlier this week, the NYPD reclassified the death of Cynthia Vann, 55, as a homicide, disclosing only that an unidentified person punched her repeatedly in the head Sept. 10 and then fled to “parts unknown.”
But before the person fled, the Hospital Police at Lincoln had conducted their own investigation and arrested the suspect apparently without NYPD involvement and referred it to the Bronx District Attorney’s office, the News has learned from law enforcement sources.
Bronx prosecutors declined to pursue charges apparently because Vann was too sick to be interviewed and no one witnessed the assault, according to a law enforcement source. The suspect was then released and is currently at large, police and the sources confirmed.
“The case was deferred on September 12 for prosecution pending further investigation and evidence,” a statement from the offfice of Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. “After the victim passed away and when her death was ruled a homicide, we started investigating the case as a homicide.”
The suspect had two prior cases involving attacks on health care workers, the DA said.
It was not immediately clear why the police at Lincoln Hospital did not immediately contact the NYPD. A Lincoln Hospital spokeswoman would not answer questions about the case. The police statement said the attack was not reported to the NYPD until 10 days after the fact, on Sept. 20. Vann died on Sept. 27 from complications of blunt force trauma to the head, the city Medical Examiner concluded.
For Vann’s family, the turn of events and the hospital’s failure to provide information has been difficult to accept. Vann was beloved on her Sherman Avenue block for a long stint tending a community garden there. She was admitted on Sept. 6 for treatment of a recurring, treatable condition and never emerged again.
“We fully expected her to be treated and come out fine,” her daughter Taneisha Vann, 34, said. “They just dropped the ball there. We’re very upset about the whole situation.”
Vann said the hospital gave her and other family members the runaround. On Sept. 19, she met with Lewis Marshall, Lincoln’s chief medical officer. She said Marshall took down her questions, promised to respond but didn’t.
Natasha Burke, the Lincoln Hospital chief of staff to CEO Cristina Contreras, did not answer any questions about Vann’s death or the investigation.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln is committed to the safety of its patients, staff, and visitors,” she wrote in an email.
Burke did not respond to a series of follow-up questions.
“Cynthia Vann’s death is on the hands of the hospital that failed her.” said Rev. Kevin McCall, who is advising the family. “Negligence is not care, and silence is not justice. We are demanding a full investigation from the District Attorney Darcel Clark.”
Taneisha Vann told The News the family was shocked when what should have been a fairly routine visit to the hospital turned tragic. The first bad news came on Sept. 11 at 5 a.m. when the hospital disclosed that her mom was in emergency surgery for bleeding on the brain. She survived the surgery but was in critical condition.
The next day, a cousin went to the hospital and learned from a hospital police lieutenant that Cynthia had been assaulted and a person had been arrested. The lieutenant passed along the name of the prosecutor with the Bronx DA’s office and told her her mom’s alleged attacker may have attacked a hospital staffer as well.
Taneisha contacted the NYPD’s 40th Precinct to try and track down an incident report. She was told none existed – which she found odd. Next, she called the DA’s office where she said the prosecutor told her an investigation never really started because of her mom’s grave condition.
“He asked for pictures. I sent him pictures,” she said.
Cynthia Vann’s health remained poor over the next week through Sept. 20 and she was placed on a ventilator.
The meeting with Marshall, the hospital’s chief medical officer, took place Sept. 19. An NYPD detective finally called on Sept. 20 and said an investigation had begun.
Initially, the detective told Vann, staff said they knew nothing about the incident. But the following week, detectives conducted more formal interviews with staff and learned they heard screaming inside Cynthia’s room.
“My mom told staff the roommate hit her in the head, the roommate denied it and they moved my mom to another room,” Taneisha Vann said.
It remains unclear when the suspect was released.
After Cynthia died on the 27th, the detective told Taneisha they were issuing a warrant for the as yet not publicly identified suspect’s arrest. A search is underway, according to Taneisha.
“They are waiting for her to be apprehended,” she said.
“My mom kept to herself. She was very light, she bruised very easily. From the pictures, you can tell her injuries and them not reporting the assault to the NYPD is just so upsetting.”
