Last week, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino announced that Cynthia Arce of Mamaroneck was indicted on charges related to the death of her toddler daughter, Gabriella Boyd, in their Chestnut Ave. home April 28, 2018, and the attack on two Village of Mamaroneck Police Officers.
A Westchester Grand Jury indicted Arce on one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a class A felony, in the death of Gabriella Boyd. In the attack on the two police officers she faces the following charges:
Two counts of Attempted Aggravated Murder, class A felonies, Two counts of Attempted Aggravated Assault upon a Police Officer, class C felonies, Two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, class D felonies.
The incident occurred at 507 Chestnut Ave. in the Village of Mamaroneck, the house where Arce lived with her mother and daughter.
Prosecutors allege, on April 28, 2018, Village of Mamaroneck Police responded to 507 Chestnut Ave. following a 911 call from Arce’s mother, reporting that someone was dying. When they arrived, they found two-year-old Gabriella Boyd unresponsive on her bed.
Officers immediately tried to resuscitate the child. While clearing the house, other officers located Arce in an adjacent bedroom behind a closed door. Arce had both her hands hidden behind her back and refused to comply with repeated police commands to show her hands. Arce then brought both hands from behind her back and above her shoulders revealing two large knives, one in each hand. She charged at the officers, repeatedly slashing at two of them. When Tasers failed to subdue her, a third officer shot Arce, ending the confrontation. Officers continued their efforts to resuscitate the child until paramedics arrived.
Gabriella Boyd was transported to White Plains Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Following an autopsy, the Medical Examiner’s Officer ruled her death to be a homicide. Two Village of Mamaroneck Police Officers were injured as a result of the confrontation.
Arce was taken to Westchester County Medical Center where she was treated for several weeks for her gunshot injuries. Arce was arrested at the hospital, charged, and remanded by a judge to the Westchester County Jail where she has remained since.
The indictment was the result of a joint investigation among the Village of Mamaroneck Police Dept., the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Laura Murphy, Bureau Chief of the Career Criminal Bureau, and Nicholas DiCostanzo, both of the Superior Court Trial Division.
One day before the incident that resulted in the death of young Gabriella, her father had obtained a court order to take the young girl away from her mother. Gabriella’s father, Stephen Boyd, through his attorney had received a Family Court order giving him temporary custody
The court order was sought because Mr. Boyd thought that he ex-wife was suicidal. Mamaroneck PD attempted to comply with the court order but Ms. Acre refused to hand her daughter over. Police officers conferred with their counsel and determined that the court order did not give them authority to forcibly remove Gabriella.
Westchester Child Protective Services, CPS, also went to the home later that evening but nobody answered the door. Mr. Boyd attempted the following day to get his daughter out of the house, to no avail. Gabriella was pronounced dead later that day.
Stephen Boyd is preparing a lawsuit against the Village and the County over his daughter’s death.
District Attorney Anthony Scarpino would only say that his office “continues to investigate the very serious charges and we await the results of the autopsy and medical examiners report, both of which could have a large impact on the investigation.”
The Westchester Child Fatality Review Committee will also review Boyd’s death. Some have called for an outside review of her death by the New York State Attorney General’s office.
