A New York City mom is demanding answers. Her daughter, Saniyah Cheatham, was found dead in a jail cell shortly after being arrested. Although the New York Police Department asserts that the young woman died by suicide, the mom doesn’t believe it. She had seen her daughter shortly before her arrest, and the mom said the 18-year-old was in good spirits. So she can’t believe that suddenly, Saniyah would hang herself. Now, the family is coming together to demand that the NYPD is held accountable and gives them some answers.
Saniyah Cheatham was found unresponsive in her cell at a station house in the Bronx about 12:40 a.m. July 5, 2025, CBS News reported. The NYPD says officers did CPR on her until paramedics came. She was then taken to Lincoln Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Thomasina Cheatham, the girl’s mother, said she had seen her daughter earlier that day at a Fourth of July cookout. During the festivities, Saniyah allegedly got into a physical fight with her girlfriend, NBC New York reported. They were both arrested, which is how Cheatham ended up in the cell.
“She was happy and I was happy to see her,” Thomasina Cheatham told NBC New York. According to the family, police told them she used a sweater to asphyxiate herself, but the mom is casting doubt.
“What happened to her? I don’t believe she killed herself,” Thomasina Cheatham said. “Maybe she said something they didn’t like, they roughed her up. I don’t believe my daughter committed suicide.” She also shared that Saniyah didn’t have a sweater when she was arrested.
The family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump to help fight their case. “The NYPD claims Saniyah took her own life, but her family is demanding full transparency, including the immediate release of all video, including surveillance video from inside the 41st Precinct,” Crump shared in a statement.
During a media conference held on July 14, the family demanded answers.
“We want to know what happened to Saniyah Cheatham, we want to know how it happened,” Crump said to the crowd. “And we want to know why you did not prevent this from happening.”
Cheatham’s younger brother is also demanding her autopsy results be released. According to People, the medical examiner’s office said she died by suicide from hanging. The NYPD Force Investigation Division is investigating her death.
