Cherish Foster: 8-Year-Old Found Hanged In Closet Of Chicago Home, Death Investigation Ensues

The Chicago police department is currently investigating the mysterious death of 8-year-old Cherish Foster, who was found hanging in the closet of her home, according to NBC Chicago. At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, police officials arrived at the home of a 28-year-old pregnant mother of three – whose name has not been released — on 9200 block of South LaSalle after she reportedly called police.

Upon their arrival, they discovered the unresponsive girl hanging in the closet. Paramedics desperately tried to revive her for several hours in the home before transferring her to Comer Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 9:44 p.m. Police officials have since conducted an investigation to uncover if the young girl committed suicide, if it was an accident, or if it was cold-blooded murder.

Sources say the child may have been playing a game that led up to her death, but it has yet to be confirmed. However, Cherish’s grandfather Todd Evans was stunned after learning of his granddaughter’s mysterious death, and couldn’t quite believe that she would even be capable of taking her own life. Evans says there is “no way the 8-year-old committed suicide.” He repeatedly told the reporter at WGN TV that “She don’t even know what suicide is.”

“They just moved up here. I came here yesterday so she [his daughter] can take them to the doctor so they can get in school,” he continued. Apparently, his daughter and her three children, who lived in the home, had just returned to Chicago after living in Florida for a short period of time. However, after the family returned, none of the children were able to attend school right away as neither of them had gotten their shots for school.

“I don’t know what happened, but I’ll find out,” Evans said. “I ain’t been in the house. I ain’t talk to no one yet. But I’ll find out. “My mother-in-law called me and told me to meet her at the hospital. And I told her I’m not buying it.”

Neighbors were also shocked and heartbroken after learning about the tragic death of Cherish Fosters, and say the family had moved into the neighborhood about a month ago and recall seeing the happy child playing outside. One neighbor – whose name has not been released — said, “The police wouldn’t let anybody go in the inside. They blocked off, you know, the sidewalk – we couldn’t go past. But they [Chicago police] wouldn’t say anything, and then after a while we saw them bring the little girl out on the stretcher.

“It was sad because I see the little girls outside playing all the time. It’s sad to see one of the girls come out the house (on the stretcher) because they were so young.”

Another neighbor, Ayyanna Abdullah, said, “She was just a normal kid, playing with the other little kids,” while neighbor Ronald Earnest claimed, “She seemed fine, I mean, when I saw her, she was just a happy kid. They all played together.”

Although sources say it would be “very difficult for an 8-year-old child to figure out the mechanics of hanging,” it was not immediately clear if the girl’s death was a homicide, a suicide, or a tragic accident. Therefore, the Chicago Police Department is currently conducting a death investigation, and Cherish’s mother is currently under scrutiny for neglect and abuse by the Department of Children and Families, who have since removed her two younger children from the home and have placed them in the care of a family member while the investigation is ongoing.

An autopsy was performed late Thursday evening, but police officials are still waiting on the results.

This is a developing story.

[Image via Shutterstock]