NEWARK — Relatives say police are looking for the boyfriend of the mother of a 7-year-old boy who died at a hospital on Monday morning after being found passed out at home.

Thomas Fennelly, a spokesman for Essex County Prosecutor's Office, would only say the investigation is ongoing and that no one has been charged. Fennelly did not disclose any information about a suspect in the case. The cause and manner of death are pending an autopsy, Fennelly said.

Newark police said the boy's death was "sudden and suspicious."

Relatives identified the boy to ABC 7 Eyewitness News as Ayden Brown. His cousin, Sonia Monroe, described him as a "a great kid" who was bubbly and full of life.

Monroe urged the man to surrender after taking off in the mother’s car.

An unidentified law enforcement source told NBC 4 New York that the boy appeared to be "beaten to death" when police arrived at the Weequahic Avenue home on Monday morning. Newark police said the boy was taken to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

 

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