Toddler left alone by mom, trapped in Manhattan apartment fire has died

One of the two toddler brothers left alone by their mother in the family’s Washington Heights apartment before it burst into flames has died of his injuries — devastating the boy’s father, who had already been on the verge of breaking up with the mom.

The boys’ mother, Skilyn Maldonado, was arrested for acting in a manner injurious to a child for leaving her three young children home alone before the deadly blaze broke out.

The 2-year-old child was pulled off life support last week after being declared brain dead, friends of the child’s father, Francisco “Gus” Corporan, wrote on Facebook.

“Currently, Gus’ 1 year old remains in critical condition, bravely fighting as he continues to receive medical care,” wrote Princiee Norvil, who put together a GoFundMe post to raise money for the children’s care. “We remain hopeful for his recovery.”

The blaze broke out in Corporan’s apartment on Audubon Ave. near W. 175th St. about 10:25 p.m. March 20, officials said. The two tots and their 8-year-old sister had been left in the apartment alone by Maldonado, the mother of the children, according to prosecutors.

Police said Corporan wasn’t home and it was understood Maldonado would watch the children. Surveillance footage from outside the apartment building shows Maldonado leaving about a half hour before the fire erupted, prosecutors say.

Neighbors told the Daily News Maldonado frequently left her children alone and that Corporan was trying to kick the woman, his girlfriend, out of their home.

“They fight,” said neighbor Michelle Panora, 26, who said she has known Corporan for most of her life.. “He wanted her to be out of there, out of the apartment. He didn’t want nothing with her no more. He was trying everything.”

Also in the apartment at the time of the fire was Maldonado’s 8-year-old daughter, who banged on a neighbor’s door pleading for help when the fire broke out. Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia treated the girl for burns to her scalp and shoulder. Her brothers suffered burns and smoke inhalation.

“I saw the 8-year-old daughter alone coming up the stairs with milk the day of the fire,” said another neighbor, who did not want to be named.

The girl is Maldonado’s daughter from a previous relationship, neighbors said.

The neighbor said it was not unusual for the children to be in the house unsupervised.

“She would just leave the kids home by themselves,” the neighbor said. “She doesn’t have a job at all. She would leave them alone morning, day and night.

“She’s young and wanted to enjoy her life,” the neighbor added. “[Corporan] been trying to get her out of the house for a bit. They fight all the time. You can hear him screaming, ‘Leave the house! You don’t do nothing. You been going into the street and never coming home!’”

Four days before the fire, Maldonado was arrested and charged with robbing a 29-year-old woman of her phone with two accomplices who have not been caught, police said.

Fire marshals are still trying to determine what sparked the fire, although it doesn’t appear to be suspicious, an FDNY official said.

It took nearly 60 firefighters an hour to bring the fire under control after flames spread in the building above a street-level restaurant, the Emergency Snack Bar Plus.

Cops charged the mom with three counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child, misdemeanors. Manhattan prosecutors asked Maldonado be held on $30,000 bail but a judge instead had her enrolled in an alternative to incarceration program.

Panora said her mother saw Corporan over the weekend in a bodega and he told her about his son’s death.

“I’ve known him a long time,” Panora said. “I never met the kids. He works. He’s a good person. He never did nothing bad to the kids. He was always there for them.”

“He didn’t know what to do,” she added. “He was walking around. His house is burned. He lost his kid. It’s hard for him. He lived here for many years. The only thing I know is he’s in the hospital with the other kid. The small one.”

Panora said she has tried to put herself in his shoes.

“I have my little one,” she said. “I would never leave him alone, no matter what. At least knock on a neighbor’s door. Don’t leave your kids alone. You never know what they can do, because kids are really curious with things. They could turn stoves on, anything. It hurts because I have one. He’s 3. So he’s almost around his age and it sucks. You know? I never met him, the little boy, but it hurts.”