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A dad has apologized after he was charged with the murder of his three-month-old daughter who was found buried in a book bag near the Bronx after his own father shopped him to cops when he confessed to finding the baby ‘stiff’ and ‘cold’.
Damion Comager, 23, wailed ‘I loved her, I’m sorry’ as he was led away from the NYPD’s 44th Precinct in handcuffs with his head bowed after being charged Monday.
The baby’s mom Ivana Paolozzi, 20, has also been charged with concealment of a human corpse and obstructing governmental administration.
The body of their daughter Genevieve Comager was found in the woods near a Bronx homeless shelter at West 161st Street and the Major Deegan Expressway at around 8.30pm Sunday.
Genevieve’s grandpa revealed to the New York Post that he felt compelled to call the police on his own son after consulting with a priest. He said he had decided he had to ‘do the right thing’.
Little Genevieve Comager (left with dad, right) was found in the woods near a Bronx homeless shelter at West 161st Street and the Major Deegan Expressway at around 8.30pm Sunday
The baby’s mom Ivana Paolozzi (pictured with Genevieve), 20, has also been charged with concealment of a human corpse and obstructing governmental administration
‘I’m just trying to process this,’ Donald, 47, told The Post Monday. ‘He told me the baby was doing a lot of crying.
‘She wouldn’t stop crying. He said he just shook her and lay her down, and he lay down and went to sleep.
‘He got up and reached for her and she was stiff and her body was cold. He panicked. He told his girlfriend, ‘I think she is dead’.’
An NYPD spokesperson previously told DailyMail.com that a concerned family member, now known as the grandpa, alerted police to the missing baby and when they went to investigate they found the child unconscious and unresponsive.
It is believed the baby lived with her parents in the University Family Residence, a transitional housing unit located at 1041 University Avenue, and blocks away from Yankee Stadium.
Sources told The Post that Comager allegedly admitted to shaking and slapping the baby on May 14 when she would not stop crying.
It’s alleged that he did not want to take her to hospital after she became unresponsive because he was concerned the marks around her neck would raise suspicions.
Tragically, later that morning, little Genevieve was stuffed in a bag and dumped in the wooded area where she lay undiscovered for more than two weeks, the sources added.
Police from the 44th Precinct investigating the death of Genevieve Comager who was found in a wooded area near the Major Deegan Expressway on Sunday night around 8:30pm
It is believed the baby lived with her parents in the University Family Residence, a transitional housing unit located at 1041 University Avenue, and blocks away from Yankee Stadium
Police were alerted by a concerned family member, now known as the baby’s grandpa, to perform a welfare check at the housing facility
‘They put the baby in a book bag and took her to the wooded area,’ Donald recalled his son telling him on the phone.
Genevieve’s mom and dad initially met the while traveling in Switzerland – where Paolozzi is originally from.
Comager, originally from Lousiana, and Paolozzi moved to New York City in November and Genevieve was born in February.
Comager’s dad said that the little girl was his first grandchild and he did not ever get to meet her in person, although he did regularly interact with her on calls or FaceTime.
Donald reflected on the challenges in turning his own son in but after praying with his priest, he felt he had no other choice to call the police.
He also revealed that his son, who had ‘several prior arrests for assault, domestic violence and criminal impersonation’, was diagnosed bipolar and schizophrenic as a child.
The NYPD crime scene unit and police cars were parked near the scene where the baby’s body was found near the wooded area along the Major Deegan Expressway
A neighbor told ABC 7 News how ‘shocked’ she was. ‘It gets me so sad, how they go through that.’
Another neighbor Gilbert Velez told CBS: ‘On occasion I would see them coming out of the shelter. They were pretty nice, I said good morning.
‘I have grandchildren, and it saddens me … This baby could have been somebody special.’
The medical examiner said that the cause of the baby’s death is still under investigation at this moment in time.
