NEW ORLEANS - On April 29, police responded to reports of physical abuse that left a toddler unresponsive and later dead from his injuries—on May 3, his mother was arrested for homicide. 

The New Orleans Police Department Child Abuse Unit investigated the initial report of abuse that happened April 29. The 2-year-old boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his multiple severe injuries. 

That same day, 25-year-old Diane Ferrand was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center for second-degree cruelty to a juvenile.

The boy later died from his injuries, and an autopsy report revealed his cause of death to be a homicide. 

Ferrand's charges were accordingly upgraded to second-degree murder.