Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura and Ashley Southall

Trapped in the rear seat was a 3-year-old, Zoey Pereira. Her father had fled the car as it burst into flames, authorities said. He also caught on fire and plunged into a nearby pond to save himself.

Police said that they were treating the child’s death Sunday night in Queens as a homicide and that the girl’s father, Martin Pereira, 39, had been taken into custody for questioning.

Investigators believe Pereira intentionally set the blaze that killed his daughter, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation.

Pereira was discovered in a shallow pond a short distance from the car, police said. He was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center’s burn unit, where he was recovering from extensive burns.

Investigators found two gas canisters — one in front of the car and one in the rear driver’s-side seat — and a 20-pound propane tank in the trunk. The tank had a hose attached to it that ran into the back seat, according to a city official close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

While Pereira’s possible motives were still unclear, investigators said he and Zoey’s mother had been engaged but broke up in March. They were embroiled in a custody dispute and had been due in Family Court on Monday to discuss a child support arrangement.

Pereira, 39, a construction worker, had been distraught in recent weeks over the custody battle, one of his former co-workers, Angel Rivera, said. Pereira had told Rivera that the court was against him and had complained he was only going to see his daughter every two weeks.

“There was a lot of stress building up in him,” Rivera said. “It made him explode up like that.”

The episode is the latest in a string of cases in which children have been killed during custody battles between parents. The Center for Judicial Excellence, an organization that tracks the safety of children in family court disputes, estimates that 679 have been killed by a divorcing or separated parent throughout the country since 2008, or about 60 each year.

Nearly a year ago, a 47-year-old mother killed her 7-year-old son by pushing him off the balcony of the Gotham Hotel in Midtown Manhattan before jumping herself. She had also been in a custody dispute.

The city Administration for Children’s Services had a file of past complaints concerning Zoey, but the reports appeared to be related to her parents’ custody battle, said an official familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to release the information. It is not uncommon for a parent in a custody dispute to accuse the other of abuse, the official said.

Rivera, the former work colleague, said Pereira had expressed fears that his daughter was being physically abused and exposed to marijuana smoke. He had told Rivera that Zoey’s mother had punched him in the face during one fight.

“I said, ‘Why didn’t you go straight to the police?’” Rivera recalled. “‘Maybe if you had, you could get custody of your daughter easier.’”

Zoey’s mother, Cherone Coleman, declined a request for an interview.

Pereira was arrested once before, six years ago, on charges of aggravated harassment involving a young woman, but the outcome of the case was sealed, police said.

The episode that ended with Zoey’s death began shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, when authorities responded to a 911 call for a car on fire near Baisley Pond Park in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood, police said.

A witness told investigators that Pereira, in flames, ran from the car and jumped into the pond in the park, the city official said. When the witness raced to give him a blanket, he said, “I have my child in the car.”

The witness also told the police he had seen Pereira driving erratically, the official said. The car had mounted the sidewalk and turned around before stopping at 154th Street and Baisley Boulevard.

The official said the two rear doors of the Audi sedan had been chained shut from the inside. The heat melted the door handles, allowing firefighters to pry them open despite the chain and free the toddler.

Firefighters pulled her out and began chest compressions, eventually taking her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Photos of the car showed the extent of the blaze. The plastic and leather upholstery was charred to a crisp, and fabric hung like stalactites. A chain was seen on the floor in the rear of the vehicle.

At the scene Monday, a few relatives laid flowers on the side of the road. They declined to talk to a reporter.

On a Facebook page, Pereira posted several pictures of himself with the little girl. Just hours before the fire, he had updated the cover photo, showing the girl sitting in a room decorated with pink and purple balloons.

“I cannot believe my friend did that,” Rivera said.

This article originally appeared in <a id="911f5ef4-ec07-3f82-a3ed-da8b09d57166" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/nyregion/queens-car-fire-child-death.html">The New York Times</a>.

A Burning Car With Doors Chained Shut, and a 3-Year-Old Victim

NEW YORK — The blaze was so intense that the heat melted the inside of the car. The back doors had been chained shut to prevent anyone inside from escaping.

A burning car with doors chained shut, and a 3-year-old victim

Trapped in the rear seat was a 3-year-old, Zoey Pereira. Her father had fled the car as it burst into flames, the authorities said.

The police said that they were investigating the child’s death, which took place Sunday night in Queens, as a homicide and that the girl’s father, whom the police did not immediately identify, had been taken into custody for questioning.

The father was found a short distance from the car, the police said. He was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center’s burn unit, where he was recovering from extensive burns.

A co-worker of Zoey’s father said the man had been distraught in recent weeks over a custody battle with Zoey’s mother.

Investigators were looking into what led to a seemingly premeditated act: They found two gas canisters — one in front of the car and one behind the driver’s seat — as well as a propane tank in the trunk, according to a city official close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

The incident was reported shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, when the authorities responded to a 911 call for a vehicle on fire near Baisley Pond Park in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood, the police said.

A witness told investigators that the girl’s father ran from the car in flames and jumped into the pond in the park, the city official said. The witness ran to give him a blanket. The father turned to the person and said, “I have my child in the car.”

The witness also told the police he had seen the father driving erratically, the official said. The car had mounted the sidewalk and turned around before stopping at 154th Street and Baisley Boulevard.

The official said the two rear doors of the Audi sedan had been chained shut from the inside. The heat had melted the doors’ handles down enough for firefighters to pry them open and free the toddler.

Firefighters pulled her out and began chest compressions, eventually taking her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, but she did not survive. The police said they have yet to determine the cause of death.

On a Facebook page, a man who represented himself as Zoey’s father posted pictures of himself with the little girl. He is a 39-year-old construction worker from Valley Stream, a village on Long Island, according to the page. Just hours before the fire, he had updated the cover photo, showing the girl sitting in a room decorated with pink and purple balloons.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/nyregion/queens-car-fire-child-death.html" id="911f5ef4-ec07-3f82-a3ed-da8b09d57166">The New York Times</a>.

NEW YORK — The blaze was so intense that the heat melted the inside of the car doors. The vehicle’s back doors had been chained shut to prevent anyone inside from escaping.

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Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura and Ashley Southall

Articles written by the author

A burning car with doors chained shut, and a 3-year-old victim

A Burning Car With Doors Chained Shut, and a 3-Year-Old Victim