15-Year-Old Boy Suffers Trauma To Neck And Dies After Argument With Stepfather

A 15-year-old boy died following an argument with his stepfather in his New York City apartment.

NYPD officers responded to a call around 4:20 p.m. Monday at an apartment in the Bronx and found the teenage boy, identified as Corde Scott, unresponsive. He was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital, NBC reported.

Further investigation revealed Corde suffered trauma to his neck area. The family told police that he had asthma, however, an autopsy ruled out an asthma attack as the cause of death, a police source told NYDaily. The city medical examiner's office is reportedly yet to determine the exact cause of death.

Investigators found that Corde had an argument with his 28-year-old stepfather, whose identity was not given, in their apartment after he arrived from school Monday afternoon.

The argument eventually turned physical and the stepfather allegedly put his hand around the teen's neck, causing trauma to the area.

Corde was a victim of bullying in his school, as a result of which he was moved from one school to another, as per ABC7NY. His stepfather was called to his school Monday to pick him up after he had a bad day. When the two reached home, they reportedly had a verbal altercation over the supposed bullying.

The boy's uncle said the stepfather was in the emergency room with the child, telling others relatives that the teen was throwing a tantrum and suddenly stopped breathing and fainted. The stepfather further claimed he was trying to calm Corde down before he collapsed.

"At the moment, [the stepfather] seemed like he was empathetic, saddened," 37-year-old Lavell Scott said. "It didn't make sense with the story. He didn't have a cardiac history. So for a 15-year-old — for me, it didn't add up all the way."

Investigators also took a close look at the stepfather who's known to have a violent history. He was recently in prison for shooting a man in 2018.

The stepdad "came out of prison one month, and now my grandson ...," the victim's grandfather Winston Scott told NYDaily. "I haven't slept yet. I look in the mirror and there's no white in my eyes. Just black and red. He was a good boy."

Police were questioning the stepfather about the death as an investigation was underway into the matter. No arrests were made.