The Queens mother accused of fatally harming her 5-year-old daughter had stopped taking prescribed medication and was hospitalized about three months ago, her grieving father told The Post.
Francis Cabello, who had been dealing with psychological issues, was inside a closed bedroom at her South Richmond Hill home Wednesday when police and emergency medical workers rushed into the apartment. Her father said that was the first sign he had that something was seriously wrong.
Paramedics tried to save young Fabiana Cabello, but the child later died at Jamaica Hospital.
“I knew mentally she wasn’t 100% there,” her father, Franklin Cabello, said. He was home when the incident unfolded. “I knew something was wrong. When a person stops taking medicine for the sickness that she had, the person is going to suffer.”
Franklin said he never believed his daughter could harm Fabiana, describing her as a protective and attentive mother. “I wouldn’t say that she would be capable of doing damage to the child,” he said. “I never would have thought she would have done something like this. The family is distraught.”
Francis Cabello reportedly called 911 herself and made a shocking admission to the dispatcher, telling them, “I killed my daughter,” according to law enforcement sources.
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Officers arrived at the home and found Cabello outside the residence.
“She’s upstairs not breathing,” the mother told police, according to sources.
Cabello was still being questioned by police Thursday evening, and prosecutors had not yet announced charges.
Franklin said he had been watching his daughter closely because he feared her mental health was deteriorating after she stopped taking her medication.
“I was paying attention because she was already acting strange,” he said. “I knew that she stopped taking the medication. I used to tell her to take her medication. She said the doctor authorized her to stop taking the medicine.”
He said he was skeptical that a doctor had approved the decision without seeing her. “I found it hard to believe because in her predicament I was surprised that the doctor would authorize that without seeing her,” Franklin said. “I did not know if it was true or false.”