The scene on Baisley Blvd at 154th St. in Queens where a 3-year-old girl was found badly burned inside a flame-engulfed car. Police rushed her to a hospital but she could not be saved. A man seen running from the car in flames was detained as a person of interest in the case. (Vic Nicastro/for New York Daily News)<doc-sep>(CNN) — The car fire that killed a 3-year-old girl in New York City on Sunday night is believed to have been set by the toddler’s father, according to a law enforcement source. Large, heavy chains were used to secure the doors inside the car during the fire, according to the source, but it’s unclear how exactly the chains were used because the interior of the vehicle was so badly damaged. The disturbing details come after New York City firefighters extinguishing a car fire discovered the toddler alone inside the vehicle just before 9 p.m. on Sunday. The car was parked in a residential Queens neighborhood, just minutes away from John F. Kennedy International Airport. While fighting the flames, firefighters got the toddler out of the burning vehicle, but the child died of her injuries at Jamaica Hospital in Queens. The New York City Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of death, according to NYPD Detective Annette Shelton. A second law enforcement source told CNN that the father was the suspect and that authorities are not looking for anyone else in relation to the crime. At least one propane tank and two gasoline cans were found in the trunk of the car, both sources said. The sources said it was unclear if the father was in the car at some point and trying to kill himself. The 39-year-old man suffered burns to 70% of his body and has not made any statements yet, as he is intubated in the hospital. He was discovered a short distance away, in a nearby pond attempting to put out flames on his body, according to a third law enforcement source familiar with the investigation. Police took the 39-year-old man into custody and emergency responders took him to an area hospital in serious but stable condition. Although he suffered burns all over his body, he is expected to survive, according to the law enforcement source. The father and the child’s mother were in the midst of a custody battle, according to the law enforcement source. Both had filed domestic incident reports against the other person, the source said. No charges have yet been filed, according to the Queens County district attorney’s Office. CNN’s Laura Ly, Taylor Romine and Evan Simko-Bednarski contributed to this report.<doc-sep>The episode is the latest in a string of cases in which children have been killed during custody battles between parents. The Center for Judicial Excellence, an organization that tracks the safety of children in family court disputes, estimates that 679 have been killed by a divorcing or separated parent throughout the country since 2008, or about 60 each year. Nearly a year ago, a 47-year-old mother killed her 7-year-old son by pushing him off the balcony of the Gotham Hotel in Midtown Manhattan before jumping herself. She had also been in a custody dispute. The city Administration for Children’s Services had a file of past complaints concerning Zoey, but the reports appeared to be related to her parents’ custody battle, said an official familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to release the information. It is not uncommon for a parent in a custody dispute to accuse the other of abuse, the official said. Mr. Rivera, the former work colleague, said Mr. Pereira had expressed fears that his daughter was being physically abused and exposed to marijuana smoke. He had told Mr. Rivera that Zoey’s mother had punched him in the face during one fight. “I said, ‘Why didn’t you go straight to the police?’” Mr. Rivera recalled. “‘Maybe if you had, you could get custody of your daughter easier.’” Zoey’s mother, Cherone Coleman, declined a request for an interview. Mr. Pereira was arrested once before, six years ago, on charges of aggravated harassment involving a young woman, but the outcome of the case was sealed, the police said. The episode that ended with Zoey’s death began shortly before 9 p.m. on Sunday, when the authorities responded to a 911 call for a car on fire near Baisley Pond Park in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood, the police said.<doc-sep>
The mother of a 3-year-old Queens girl who died in a burning car Sunday evening had fought unsuccessfully to deny the father visitation rights and said Monday she “should’ve just kept her and gone to jail,” according to a report. The little girl’s remains were pulled late Sunday from the back of her father’s charred Audi in Queens. Reports said the back doors had been chained shut. The girl’s father, Martin Pereira, had reportedly told the mom, "You’re never going to see your daughter again.” Pereira was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan and treated for his burns. He is in police custody as of Monday evening, but has not been charged, The New York Daily News reported. Cherone Coleman, the girl's 36-year-old mom, told The Daily News that Pereira had become unhinged in recent weeks and the two had been engaged in an ugly court battle. She said, despite her wishes, a judge granted Pereira weekend visitation rights and he took their daughter on Saturday. It was only his second time visiting their daughter since they broke up, Coleman said. KENTUCKY DAD CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER PUNCHING, KILLING BABY OVER LOSING VIDEO GAME, POLICE SAY After ducking his calls over the weekend, Coleman said she finally spoke with Pereira late Sunday – right before their daughter was killed in the burning car. She alleged he told her, “Do I have your attention now, b----? I got your attention now, b----. You’re never going to see your daughter again.” GET THE FOX NEWS APP Police on Monday ruled their daughter’s death a homicide.