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DCF finds no indication 1-year-old died because of inadequate supervision at day care

The Florida Department of Children & Families has closed its investigation into the death of 1-year-old Malik Baker.

MORE: DCF: 15-month-old who died after incident at Jacksonville daycare did not choke on toy | 15-month-old dies after incident at a local day care

Malik died after he was found unresponsive at Tip Top 24 Hour Learning Center in Jacksonville's Lakeshore neighborhood in September 2018.

DCF’s new Child Fatality Summary said the agency found there were no indicators Malik died because of inadequate supervision at the day care.

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The Baker family may never know why their 1-year-old died.

“I sung him his favorite lullaby, whether he could hear me or not, and we held my baby’s hand until his heart stopped beating,” said the child's mother, Amber Lee, on Sept. 21, 2018.

Days after Malik’s death, his parents told Action News Jax he choked on a toy at day care before he was rushed to the hospital.

“When I got there, he was already unresponsive, and they said he had been three to five minutes without oxygen,” said Earl Baker on Sept. 21.

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But the DCF report said a day care teacher had taken away a plastic block he had been chewing on a few minutes before he became unresponsive, and neither the first responders nor medical examiner found foreign objects in Malik’s airway.

In December 2018, the medical examiner could not determine Malik’s cause or manner of death.

The DCF report also revealed the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office ruled Malik’s death undetermined and closed its investigation without further actions last month.

DCF’s investigation primarily focused on the day care.

The agency found, in the four years before Malik’s death, there had been five reports involving the day care; supervision issues were the most common concern reported.

DCF said there had been at least 10 reports involving Baker's family in the five years before his death, and the reports include domestic violence and substance abuse.

The agency found the family’s history had no bearing on the circumstances surrounding Malik’s death.

Action News Jax called Tip Top 24 Hour Learning Center, Malik’s parents and his aunt who was his legal guardian when he died to get their reactions to the new DCF report.

The day care did not want to comment. Malik’s family members have not responded.