8-year-old’s death in Newark perplexes police

NEWARK — The investigation into the death of an 8-year-old girl has not yet determined a cause and manner of how she died.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office said Imani McCray was found unresponsive in the bedroom of an apartment on South Orange Avenue on Sunday afternoon. McCray was taken to University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Citing unnamed sources close to the investigation, NBC 4 New York reported that McCray took her own life and was found hanging in a closet.

According to the report, investigators are looking at whether or not McCray copied Ashwanty Davis, a 10-year-old Colorado girl who also hung herself just after Thanksgiving, after reading about her on Facebook.

Davis' parents said bullying at school led their daughter to suicide, the NBC 4 New York report said.

Investigators told NBC 4 New York McCray was not bullied. According to the report, her birthday would have been next week.

The Prosecutor's Office said that there were no visible injuries on her body.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

More from New Jersey 101.5: