mallory hoff is in queens with our lead story. mallory. >> reporter: sandra, joe, that is exactly right. this little girl, this 9-year- old, moved to this country three months ago to live with her father and stepmother. the goal here was for this child to have a better life. from one member of this family that he knew something was wrong when it came to the relationship between the child and her stepmother. 55-year-old shamdai arjun is now charged with murder. police say she is responsible for the death of her 9-year-old stepdaughter ashdeep kaur. >> the stepmother did whatever she wanted. she told me she sometimes beat >> yes. >> reporter: a relative of the father said he had spoken to her about the relationship with her stepmother. he knew something was wrong. >> she always came to our house, you know, and told me that the stepmom not really care for her. she beat her up sometimes. >> reporter: in this photo, kaur is seen standing with her father and stepmother, as billion as her stepmother's grandkids. around 6:00 last night, a

mallory hoff is in mount vernon now with new details about the police investigation. mallory. >> reporter: sandra and joe, an investigator tells me this woman's story simply did not they know. right now a make shift memorial continues to grow as a mother is accused of doing the unthinkable. mount vernon police say the 26- year-old mom has been arrested. >> from what we understand, the story continued to change and the information and based on the information available to our officers led to the decision to charge her with manslaughter in the first degree. >> reporter: one neighbor believes that investigators have it wrong. >> as far as i know, the mother was a good mother. she didn't let them go astray. she always had the baby in her hands. >> reporter: police responded to a 911 call at 5:30 yesterday morning. that call made by the child's aunt. when they arrived, they found the 15 month old unresponsive. >> everything is so unjustifiable where that is concerned. and it's really, really, really heart breaking. >> reporter: an initial investigation indicates the toddler

mallory hoff has the latest. joe and sandra, she is expected to be walked from the precinct member tells us he knew there was something wrong when it came to the relationship between the 9-year-old girl and her stepmother. 55-year-old shamdai arjun is now charged with murder. police say she is responsible for the death of her 9-year-old stepdaughter kaur. around 6:00 last night, a neighbor tried to use a bathroom in the home. locked. no sounds coming from inside. kaur was discovered in a bathtub. no water in the tub. police responded to a 911 call. they found her unconscious. she was pronounced dead at the scene. the father of the 9-year-old girl was seen leaving the precinct this morning, visibly shaken with support he walked from the precinct to a car. yesterday afternoon coming home from work and learning about the death of his daughter, he collapsed in the front yard. about her relationship with her stepmother. >> the step mom did whatever -- whatever -- because she always told me that she sometimes beat her

mallory hoff is at yankee stadium with fan reaction. mallory? >> reporter: sandra, that's right, mixed emotions and mixed memories tonight. many fans seem to feel they had no idea how exactly this would play out. yankees fans are reacting to the a-rod announcement. >> i saw it coming. >> i wasn't too surprised. he hasn't been hitting too well. >> now he can do something than just sit on the bench the whole game. he can help the younger players. >> reporter: mixed emotions about the player. >> there's people who think he's a cheater and hate him. as a yankee fan just born in up with a-rod, i have a perspective that he's one of the best players of all time. >> he was on the 2009 team and won a couple mvps here. he's a good player. >> i think i'm kind of glad he's going. he did a lot, but he caused more conflict than wanting to enjoy the game. >> reporter: this move marks a transition for the team. it also marks a transition for the fans who are looking live outside of yankees stadium mallory hoff, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you. >>> inves

mallory hoff at one of the most the story. >> these numbers speak specifically to violent crimes. a lot of people we've spoken with say this is a situation that makes them very nervous. they say they won't stop going to the park but they'll be on the look-out. >> to be aware is to be alive. you have to watch out. >> reporter: new york city park advocates say violent crime has increased 23% in the last nine months compared to the previous nine months. >> you're providing the public them. >> reporter: the most dangerous -- >> flushing meadows, claremont park, riverside park has a lot of crime. >> reporter: the watchdog says 14 were raped, 254 robbed, and 143 people were victims of felony assaults. >> in your opinion, are people safe in city parks? >> unfortunately people are not president of the union that represents parks enforcement officers. >> there's a lot more people utilizing our parks, beaches, and pools. we asked earlier in the year in anticipation of this, we asked city council for more patrol officers. unfortunately it fell on deaf ears. they said it wasn't a priority. >>

mallory hoff is live in howard beach. mallory-- >> reporter: shirleen, good morning. detectives say there's a severe community threat and this attack was likely random. this comes as we're learning the brutal death cult off a promise -- death cut off a promising future. she had gotten her masters degree and she was expressing herself as a writer. this film was based on her work. >> she never acted before on film and this was the first time. and as evident in the final product, she did a great job. >> reporter: this six minute film is based on one of her poems. >> she was just over the moon. people were interested in reading her word, let alone filming it. >> reporter: the police search for evidence is painstaking. officers are chopping down by hand. >> we're clearing a very vast area in the back next to the crime scene. and we're conducting a search for evidence. >> reporter: dna evidence is being tested. and her cellphone may give of her movements and the murder. but it's all small comfort to a neighborhood living in fear. >> we all jog and we all walk out here and e

in east new york, brooklyn, mallory hoff, channel 7 eye witness news. >>> the nypd on alert after someone got ahold of a radio and making threats. someone was targeting an nypd captain and that sent police on a chase trying to track him down. eye witness news reporter aj ross has details. >> reporter: it was a seemingly innocent radio page that went out over several nypd frequencies early saturday to the midtown south precinct captain. officers responded to the numerous unauthorized calls around 5:42 p.m. when he claimed he was standing next to a response police van in time square and challenged the captain to come find him. >> remember captain, i'm coming for you. come and find me. >> reporter: continuing to taunt the captain, the suspect later the wall greens but searchs found nothing. investigators aren't sure if he was using a lost or stolen police radio. they're warning patrols to be careful. they are calling this an ongoing investigation. at the midtown south precinct, aj ross, channel 7 eye witness news. >>> new information, the nypd investigating after officers his girlfriend in q

mallory hoff, eyewitness news. >> you can get new developments on the investigation into the bus crash on our abc 7ny app. zone expanding tonight to one of the most popular beaches in the world. they are adding the south beach area to the alert and warning pregnant women from going there. the virus appeared to be transmitted by infected mosquitoes and they are gaiting if they should broaden the travel advisory to miami-dade county, a move that could be devastating to >>> a fire ripped through a rove homes in saint george. it started by children playing with matches. and we're live at the scene. lucy? >> reporter: we're learning they were two boys, ages six and eight playing with matches and they were lighting pieces of paper on fire and tossing them on to the porch thinking this caused all of this heartache and loss. you're looking at picture of news chopper 7. it is a bitter setback having to rebuild their lives. >> i don't understand. i've never been through a fire in my life. and in a matter of seconds to lose everything that you own is crazy. >> reporter: this woman is living out a

mallory hoff has the story. >>reporter: the department of health services says this restaurant is safe for customers. the restaurant owner tells me this bartender had no idea she had hepatitis a. he it is okay. empty tables at trent italian american restaurant in farmingdale this after after the sussex county department of health services says an employee has been diagnosed with hepatitis a. >> she didn't know she was sick. she started to feel sick and she went to the doctor. >> restaurant owner amilio says when the -- the department says to when a drink at the restaurant on july 19th, 23rd, 30th are at-risk. >> anybody who was receiving drinks in that timeframe could have been exposed to hepatitis a. >> hepatitis a causing an inflammation of the liver. it may be spread by consuming food or drink handled by an infected person. >> it's a self-limited illness. it comes ill for a couple -- up with very -- mild symptoms. you make a recovery >> a recovery can lessen the illness, but it has to be given within 2 weeks

mallory hoff is in mount vernon now with new details about the police investigation. mallory. >> reporter: sandra and joe, an investigator tells me this woman's story simply did not

live in howard beach, mallory hoff, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you. >>> police are looking for three intruders who broke into a home and terrorized an and covered their eyes using duct tape. and then the thieves stole cash, cellphones and credit cards before fleeing the scene. if you have information on this, you are asked to call police. >>> we've learned that everyone has been accounted for following a terrifying house explosion in connecticut. phone calls flooded 911 after the blast yesterday afternoon. firefighters rescued four people who were trapped in the wreckage. three people had already gotten out. injured. three of them seriously. investigators still trying to figure out what caused the blast. >>> the american woman stabbed to death in london had planned to get back to her normal life today in florida. the 64-year-old was with her husband, a florida state professor, who was spending the summer in britain teaching. an american man is among the five other stabbing victims who survived. police believe their 19-year- old attacker had mental health facing murder charges.

live outside of yankees stadium mallory hoff, channel 7 eyewitness news. have a slide show at abc7ny. >>> a call from congress tonight to return from its summer recess for just one day to take action in the fight against the zika virus. senator charles schumer says ongoing work on a vaccine could be jeopardized unless lawmakers vote soon to approve a nearly $2 billion emergency zika funding bill, but congress isn't scheduled to reconvene until next month. >> we are on the verge of to stop zika and because congress is derelict in its duty, we're not going to get that vaccine for a long period of time because they don't have the money to do the trial. >> senator schumer says he has made this request in a letter to house and senate leadership. >>> today members of a new jersey congregation worshiped at their church for the first time since a devastating fire five months ago. flames gutted the sanctuary. they worshiped in the church's gym, this after months of sunday services at other locations. the sanctuary is still in ruins, but church leaders and the congr

mallory hoff is at university hospital where many of the injured were taken. >> reporter: tonight at least one person remains in critical condition. a passenger shared with us that he considered himself lucky after he was thrown from his seat. a bus driver and a passenger are dead after a devastating morning crash at north broad boulevard in newark. involved in the crash two new jersey transit buses this video was captured by a passenger and it shows the horrific scene on board. >> you got a lot of people injured. one guy almost die. >> reporter: and the crash victims were initially taken to saint michael he is, beth israel and university hospital some have since been transferred or released. >> we're trying they survive. that they are in a hospital. some people have been and are being released. right now the hospital we have one critical, five serious, four fair and four good. >> reporter: after being discharged, he said that he's fortunate. >> no fractures. so i can go home. >> i was the only one in the back in was good. >> reporter: and now an investigation into what led to the cr

with more on the warning from the fire commissioner, eyewitness news reporter mallory hoff joins us from queens village. mallory. >>reporter: joe, this is the site of what the nydy is calling fires. continued work is going on this afternoon. this is the commissioner a parents to start a conversation with their children about fire safety with their children at a young age. the fdy says fires were started by kids. dan yell urging adults to start a conversation. >> parents should insure that children have no access to lighters or matches or don't play with the stove or other sources of fire. all times. >> on august 9th in the wakefield session of the bronx, the fdyn said a fire spread after kids were spraying with a fire and dish towel on a stove top. kids playing with matches started a fire in queens village. on august 18th, another fire. kids were also playing with matches. >> these fires damed or destroyed 14 homes. made homeless at least 100 people and injured 35 people. two of our firefighters nearly lost their lives in one of these fires. >> the fdny visited a fire in queens to talk f

. >> mallory hoff at one of the most violent parks in new york, she's in queens at the flushing meadows corona park. >> this can be a very dangerous place to be and a lot of park goers just hearing about these numbers say they are in fact on edge. out today a lot of people remember in the summertime, this is a free activity. >> reporter: new york city park advocates say violent crime has increased 23% in the last nine months compared to the previous nine months. >> obviously the world is changing. it's not like we used to know it. anything can happen. >> reporter: in the last nine months at city park, six people were murdered. 14 were raped. 254 were robbed. felony assaults. >> the only dedicated full-time park police are the park patrol. >> reporter: president of nyc park advocates says increased safety measures are necessary. >> for years we've been calling on the mayor and city council to dramatically increase our park place and unfortunately we've been told over and over again that protecting parks and the people in parks is simply not a priority. and that's absolutely shameful. >>

eyewitness news reporter mallory hoff live in queens village. >> as we know, kids are curious fire can spread. the fdny says this home behind me is a very good example of exactly what can happen when kids play with fire. >> reporter: three devastating august fires could have been prevented according to fire commissioner daniel nigro. >> all caused by children playing with matchesr playing with fire. >> reporter: a dad who's friends with one of the families that lost their home tells us the situation is another conversation with his kids about the time. do not play with fire. i don't even want to see you close to the stove when it's on. >> parents should ensure that children have no access to lighters or matches. or don't play with the stove or other sources of fire. >> reporter: on august 9th in the wakefield section of the bronx, the fdny says a fire spread after kids were playing with fire and a dish towel on a stovetop. just days later the fdny says matches caused a fire in queens village on august 13th. then in the st. george section of staten island on august 18th, another fire. t

in suffolk county, mallory hoff, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> the senior citizen pushed down stairs and talks about the terrifying attempted robbery. eyewitness news at 6:00 starts right now. >> this is new york's number one news, channel 7 eyewitness news with bill ritter and liz cho and lee goldberg with the exclusive accuweather forecast. now eyewitness news at 6:00. >> we need to find her killer. >> tonight in an interview with eyewitness news, the father of karina is pleading for the killer. he talks about the $100,000 reward that he hopes will lead to justice in his daughter's death. >>> first, breaking news. five people hurt after a lightning strike in duchess county. good evening at 6:00. i'm diana williams. bill and liz are off tonight. the people in strike were injured as a fast- moving storm was going through the area. this happened in poughkeepsie this afternoon. the victims were in mansion square park. joe torres is in the news room with the latest. joe. call it severe weather. here is one reason why. shortly after 4:00 this afternoon, a lightning strike indirectly hit