Mom who allegedly smothered son at Midtown restaurant, then blamed devil, indicted

MIDTOWN (WABC) -- A mother who allegedly smothered her 1-year-old son inside a Manhattan burger restaurant and then told authorities the devil made her do it was indicted Friday.

Latisha Fisher, 36, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree strangulation.

"Latisha Fisher is charged with deliberately killing her 20-month-old son, tragically ending the boy's life," District Attorney Cy Vance said. "Today, with this murder indictment, we are seeking justice for the senseless death of an innocent child."

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, at approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 30, 2015, Fisher was discovered by restaurant staff inside the bathroom of 5 Boro Burger on Sixth Avenue, where she was sitting on the toilet and holding her 20-month-old son, Gavriel Fisher. The child was foaming from the nose and his lips were blue.

FDNY EMS responded and and provided on-site treatment to the boy, who was then rushed in an ambulance to Bellevue Hospital.

Latisha Fisher remained on the scene and told the FDNY first responders that the devil made her "put him to sleep." Fisher then demonstrated how she smothered the child by cupping her hands and indicating that she placed them over the boy's face.

The attending physician at Bellevue pronounced Gavriel Fisher dead at approximately 3:30 p.m., and the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner later ruled that the child's death was a homicide as a result of smothering.