New York Man Faces Charges After 3-Year-Old Girl Dies in Sofa Bed

Sept. 24, 2013— -- A New York City man has been arrested in connection with the death of a 3-year-old girl who authorities said was smothered over the weekend when she became trapped inside a sofa bed.

Mohamed Barry, 50, told police he briefly left his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Aissante Diallo, and two other children, ages 5 and 10 years old, unattended inside a Harlem apartment, a New York Police Department spokesman told ABCNews.com.

The 3-year-old and the 10-year-old became trapped in the pull-out bed, according to police. The 10-year-old was able to escape, but police said the 3-year-old likely suffocated between two pieces of the bed, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined by the medical examiner.

The little girl was unconscious when authorities were called to the home, police said. She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Barry has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, according to police. He has not yet entered a plea and it wasn't immediately known whether he had hired an attorney.

"It was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone," Arthur Dash, who lives below the family in the apartment building, told the New York Post. "These are the types of tragedies you can only pray about. This is a quiet building and a very good family."