July 11, 2025
Thomasina Cheatham says Saniyah was “all smiles just hours before,” alleged suicide in police custody.
The family of 18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham is demanding answers after the Bronx college student was found dead in an NYPD holding cell, with officials calling the death a suicide.
According to the NYPD, Cheatham was discovered unresponsive in a cell at the 41st Precinct station house on Longwood Avenue just before 1 a.m. on Saturday.
Officers claim that she used a sweater to asphyxiate herself. Despite allegedly performing CPR until emergency responders arrived, Cheatham was later pronounced dead at Lincoln Hospital.
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is now reviewing the circumstances of her death, CBS News reported.
“The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division investigation remains ongoing,” the department said in a statement.
Cheatham, a student at Bronx Community College, had been arrested Friday night following an alleged altercation with her friend.
Her family stated that both women were taken into custody after the fight, which happened just hours after Cheatham attended a July Fourth cookout in Crotona Park.
Her mother, Thomasina Cheatham, said the news of her daughter’s death does not align with the person she saw earlier that day.
“She was happy and I was happy to see her,” Saniyah’s mother said, recalling their time at the family gathering.
The NYPD has not yet confirmed the details of the altercation, but stated Cheatham was alone in her cell when she was found unresponsive around 12:40 a.m. The medical examiner has not officially determined the cause of death.
Though police have labeled the death a suicide, Cheatham’s mother remains skeptical. “She was all smiles just hours before,” she said, casting doubt on the official narrative.
The case has raised new concerns about conditions in NYPD custody and the treatment of detainees. Advocates for Cheatham and family members are calling for complete transparency, including the release of surveillance footage and detailed accounts of Cheatham’s final hours.
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