A two-year-old girl has been mauled to death by a dog after her grandad left her unattended with the animal.
An autopsy on the toddler determined she died from a head injury as a result of the dog attack.
The child - identified by relatives as Jah'niyah White - passed away at Jackson Park Hospital in Chicago on Saturday afternoon.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the autopsy found the girl had been neglected and died as a result of injuries suffered during the dog attack.
Her death has been ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner's office.
State child welfare officials are now launching an investigation into allegations of abuse. A spokeswoman said the agency had not had any prior contact with the family, and that the grandfather has not been charged with a crime.
Jah'niyah's dad, John White, 21, said his daughter didn't live at the grandfather's address but was there while her mother was at work.
He described her as a 'smart little girl'.
"She talked a lot," he said. "She liked to play. She knew all the ABCs."
A friend of the family, Erin Lewis, said she used to help take care of Jah'niyah with her paternal grandmother. She said everyone was 'really in pieces' over the tragedy.
"They may as well cancel Christmas," she said.
Police said they are conducting a death investigation but, unlike the Medical Examiner's office, have not yet ruled the child's death a homicide.