NEED TO KNOW
- Arya Lebeau, 12, died after she fell from a third-story window in Massachusetts on May 23
- The girl’s family is searching for answers after they allege she may have been pushed over a dispute about pizza
- “I just want closure, I want answers,” the young girl’s dad said
A child has died after she fell from a third-story window, authorities said.
Arya Lebeau, 12, was at a friend’s house when she fell out of a third-floor window in an apartment complex in Southbridge, ABC affiliate WCVB, FOX affiliate WFXT and Boston.com reported.
“We don’t have any answers right now, but I’m hoping that soon we will get answers,” the young girl’s mom, Charlene Cabrera, told WFXT.
The Worcester County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that authorities are continuing to investigate “an unattended death” on the morning of Saturday, May 24.
“Initial reports suggest that a juvenile fell from a third-story window,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “The Office of the Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner has accepted the case and an autopsy is pending.”
A statement posted by the Southbridge Police Department confirmed the details of the accident, sharing that the teen, who is not named in either statement, fell from the window Friday evening and was later pronounced dead at a medical center in Worcester.
An investigation is ongoing. The police department and Office of the Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for further comment.
Recalling what happened that night, Cabrera told WCVB that she dropped her daughter off for the sleepover on Friday evening and was told a parent was present. Just two hours later, she got a call that her daughter had fallen out of the window, and there were allegedly no adults home.
“I was told it was a kick and she fell out the window,” the mom told the outlet.
In a Facebook post, a woman who identified herself as Arya’s grandmother said that an argument over pizza may have resulted in the young girl going through the window and hitting her head.
Arya’s dad, Jeremy Lebeau, said his daughter had stayed at the friend’s house previously and only heard the children were home alone after the fatal incident, according to WCVB.
“Part of her summer list was to have sleepovers, which is what she was doing,” Jeremy told the outlet. “She was the greatest child I could have in my life. I miss her. I just want closure — no matter what, I just want closure, I want answers.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
On a GoFundMe page that was organized by a friend to help with funeral costs, Cabrera thanked everyone for their support and mourned her little girl. (The organizer and Arya’s family did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.)
“I cannot express the amount of grief I feel at the loss of my only baby,” she wrote. “I know we will raise enough money to give my baby girl a peaceful rest.”
Read the full article here
