A 25-year-old Flatbush woman was arrested Sunday and charged with concealing a human corpse after police found her 1-month-old baby dead in a duffel bag in the closet of a Veronica Place apartment during a Saturday evening wellness check, authorities said.
The case moved swiftly from a 911 call by the child’s grandmother to an arrest and a pending autopsy as detectives documented the scene and notified family. Police identified the mother as Gynae Kendall and the baby as Adonnys Kendall. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death. As of Monday, investigators said there were no immediate signs of trauma reported at the scene, but final findings will come from the autopsy and laboratory testing now underway. Additional charges could follow depending on those results, officials said.
Officers responded just after nightfall Saturday to the multiunit building on Veronica Place in Flatbush after the child’s grandmother called for a wellness check, concerned she had not seen the infant in recent days. According to police, Kendall first told officers the baby was with his father. When the claim could not be confirmed, officers searched the apartment and discovered a duffel bag in a bedroom closet. Inside, they found the boy wrapped in a blanket and unresponsive. Emergency crews pronounced him dead at the scene. Detectives secured the apartment overnight while crime-scene technicians photographed the closet area, collected bedding and clothing as evidence and prepared the baby’s body for transfer to the city morgue, officials said.
Investigators spent Sunday reconstructing the timeline from the baby’s last confirmed sighting to the wellness check. They interviewed relatives and neighbors, obtained building camera footage and reached the child’s father, who, according to police, disputed that he had custody in recent days. Kendall was taken into custody and later charged with concealment of a human corpse, a felony that covers actions taken to prevent discovery of a death. Authorities emphasized that the charge addresses what happened after the baby died; the medical examiner’s determination will guide any homicide or neglect counts. Police said no other arrests had been made and that the investigation remains active.
Flatbush residents described a tense evening as squad cars gathered on the narrow block and uniformed officers moved in and out of the ground-floor unit. Several said they saw detectives carrying paper bags and plastic bins typically used to preserve clothing and linens. The building, a walk-up with a modest lobby and security cameras, sits on a residential street between Church Avenue and Linden Boulevard. Tenants said officers remained into the early hours while the apartment was sealed for evidence collection. By Sunday afternoon, patrol cars were still stationed nearby as relatives arrived and left without speaking publicly.
Authorities did not say how long the infant had been in the closet or when he was last seen alive. The medical examiner’s office will review scene findings, medical history, interviews and any available pediatric records, and will conduct an autopsy and toxicology tests as needed. Police said they are also checking recent 911 calls, caseworker contacts, or prior welfare checks at the address. Detectives are working with the district attorney’s office to align interview summaries, evidence logs and digital records before any additional filings are considered. Officials said the father is cooperating with investigators and has not been charged.
City records show the Veronica Place corridor is lined with smaller apartment houses and mixed-use buildings, with frequent pedestrian and bus traffic. Wellness checks—requests from relatives, landlords or neighbors to verify someone’s safety—are common assignments for patrol officers. In cases involving infants, police typically notify child-welfare officials and secure any items that could indicate caretaking, such as bottles, formula, medications, or notes. In this investigation, evidence teams photographed the closet and adjoining bedroom and transported the duffel bag and blanket to the lab. Officials declined to describe additional items recovered, citing the open case.
By Monday morning, Kendall remained in custody awaiting her first court appearance. Prosecutors said they expect to present the concealment charge at arraignment while they await the medical examiner’s findings. If the autopsy suggests foul play or criminal neglect, the case could expand to include additional counts. If the manner of death is undetermined or natural, prosecutors said the concealment charge would still proceed based on the concealment of the remains. Defense information was not available, and it was unclear whether Kendall had retained or been assigned an attorney.
The immediate next steps include the completion of the autopsy and formal identification procedures by the medical examiner, as well as a review of any surveillance video showing who entered or exited the apartment in recent days. Detectives will also document the baby’s short medical history and verify any pediatric appointments, vaccinations or hospital visits since birth. Police said the case file will include a full inventory of items recovered from the closet area and photographs of the scene before and after the duffel bag was opened. Investigators will compare timeline statements from relatives and neighbors with phone records and camera footage to resolve any gaps.
Late Monday, the building was quiet. A small group of relatives came and went, declining to comment. A neighbor said officers had asked tenants to contact the precinct if they remembered anything unusual from the past week—unfamiliar visitors, sounds, or package deliveries—to help narrow the timeline. On Veronica Place, traffic moved slowly around parked patrol cars as dusk settled. The apartment where the discovery was made remained sealed, with a notice on the door indicating that evidence collection was ongoing and entry was restricted to authorized personnel.
As of Monday evening, the mother remained jailed on the concealment charge while the medical examiner worked to determine how the infant died. Arraignment is expected soon in Brooklyn Criminal Court. Officials said they will release additional details once the autopsy and initial lab tests are complete.
Author note: Last updated January 26, 2026.