Medical examiner says 4-year-old boy, grandmother were poisoned; both ruled homicides

The medical examiner says the deaths of a 4-year-old boy and his grandmother - months apart- were both the result of poisoning and both have been deemed homicides.

News 12 Staff

Feb 17, 2022, 3:24 PM

Updated 962 days ago

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The medical examiner says the deaths of a 4-year-old boy and his grandmother - months apart- were both the result of poisoning and both have been deemed homicides.
Police say they responded to a 911 call on May 24, 2021 concerning a 4-year-old complaining of stomach pains in Brooklyn.
EMS transported the boy to Maimonides Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. On May 26, 2021, the child, identified as Wilhelm Ducatl, was pronounced dead.
A preliminary determination by officials revealed that the child was possibly poisoned. A joint investigation between the NYPD and the medical examiner continued, prompting further investigation into the death of Ducatl's maternal grandmother and a post-exhumation examination of her body.
Ducatl's grandmother, identified as 63-year-old Tofoon Man, was pronounced dead on Feb. 17, 2021 at Mount Sinai Hospital of Brooklyn following complaints of stomach pains sustained inside the same home as Ducatl at 2469 65th Street.
On Feb.16, 2022, the medical examiner determined that the cause of death for both Ducatl and Man were due to poisoning linked to heavy metal acute thallium.
There have been no arrests at this time. An investigation is ongoing.