A baby boy found dead in his young mother's shopping bag after security guards allegedly spotted her shoplifting at a New York Victoria's Secret was murdered, officials have finally ruled. The death of Tiona Rodriguez's infant son death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Tuesday - months after his October, 2013 passing. The child, who hasn't been identified, died as a result of homicidal asphyxia, a spokeswoman said, adding that he was alive for less than a day. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment to the New York Daily News on whether Rodriguez will now face murder charges. The teen, who has a 2-year-old son, told the Daily News Tuesday that she had 'no idea' about the homicide ruling. Scroll down for video . Homicide: The death of Tiona Rodriguez's infant son death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Tuesday - months after his October, 2013 passing. She is shown in October at a court hearing for shoplifting charges . 'No idea': The teen, pictured in October, told the Daily News Tuesday that she had 'no idea' about the homicide ruling. It's not clear if she will now face murder charges . Homicide prosecutors had been probing the case since the teen was arrested. She wasn't initially charged over the macabre find. The . then-17-year-old, was released without bail after she pleaded not . guilty to petty larceny and possession of stolen property charges. However . at the time, authorities said they couldn't bring charges over the dead . baby until forensic tests determined exactly how the full-term newborn . died. Preliminary . reports from detectives suggested the fetus was born alive and may have been asphyxiated. 'I . don’t want to ignore the elephant in the room, but we are only . arraigning the shoplifts,' Assistant District Attorney Robert . Hettleman told the court at the October hearing, according to New York Daily News. The court released Rodriguez' friend . Francis Estevez without bail and soon after more than a dozen uniformed . police officers and . detectives had descended on her Queens home with a crime scene unit . truck, a neighbor said. Arrests: Tiona Rodriguez (left) was carrying a . dead baby boy in her shopping bag when she was stopped on suspicion of . shoplifting with her friend Francis Estevez (right) in New York on October 17, 2013 . Police . believe Rodriguez gave birth in Estevez's home shortly before the shoplifting arrest. The . investigators spent two hours going through an upstairs apartment where . Estevez's family lives. The friends were arrested on October 17 in a . Victoria's Secret shop on 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The grisly discovery was made when the two girls were stopped by a . security guard as they left the store in Herald Square on suspicion of . shoplifting. But as well as . allegedly finding stolen goods inside the . bags, the guard noticed there was a strong odor inside and found a tiny . body under the loot. Rodriguez . told detectives she had delivered a day earlier and didn't know what to . do, authorities said. 'Shoplifting with a . baby in her bag the entire time certainly suggests a little bit of . difficulty following society's rules,' Hettleman said at the hearing, adding that the matter was still under investigation. Found: Investigators remove evidence bags containing the male fetus from the scene on Thursday . 'The . NYPD, my office and the office of the Chief Medical Examiner are going . to continue to vigorously and thoroughly investigate the matter relating . to the baby,' he told the Post at the time. An initial autopsy of the dead baby was . inconclusive, and more tests were needed to determine how the child died, according to the city medical examiner's office. But New York Police Department spokesman, . John McCarthy, said that the case was still being investigated and that . police were awaiting the medical examiners' determination of the cause . of death. After Rodriguez was arrested on Thursday she was taken to Bellevue Hospital and both girls were arrested on petit larceny charges. On her Facebook page late on . Wednesday night, Rodriguez had complained about period cramps, and . added that she was excited about an upcoming job interview at Chipotle. One of Rodriguez's neighbors said she was shocked to hear the teenager had been pregnant. Health problems: Tiona had complained of period pains the day before she was stopped in Victoria's Secret . Teen mom: Tiona, who has a two-year-old son, told police she had a miscarriage the day before . Shocking discovery: A police officer outside the Victoria's Secret branch where a fetus was found in a bag . Zami . Ford, 17, said: 'I've known her since she was little. She was probably . nervous and didn't know what to do. She would never hurt anyone.' She said she was unaware of the teen's pregnancy and was stunned by the allegations. 'She's a good girl. I can't believe she would do that.' Another . neighbor, Lydia Perez, said: 'She had to have hidden that pregnancy for . a while. I saw her outside here the other day with her family, and her . baby. 'There was a whole bunch of joy. You would never know there were . any problems.' Customers at . Victoria's Secret were also shocked to hear that a dead infant was found in . the store, but most sympathized with the schoolgirl. 'She must be going through a big depression. She must have been wondering how she was going to get rid of it,' Yvonne Sonera told the Daily News.
The death of New York woman Tiona Rodriguez's infant son death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Tuesday - months after his October, 2013 passing .
The child, who hasn't been identified, died as a result of homicidal asphyxia, a spokeswoman said .
She added that he was alive for less than a day .
The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment to the New York Daily News on whether Rodriguez will now face murder charges .
The teen, who has a 2-year-old son, reportedly said Tuesday that she had 'no idea' about the homicide ruling .
A baby boy found dead in his young mother's shopping bag after security guards allegedly spotted her shoplifting at a New York Victoria's Secret was murdered, officials have finally ruled. The death of Tiona Rodriguez's infant son death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Tuesday - months after his October, 2013 passing. The child, who hasn't been identified, died as a result of homicidal asphyxia, a spokeswoman said, adding that he was alive for less than a day. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment to the New York Daily News on whether Rodriguez will now face murder charges. The teen, who has a 2-year-old son, told the Daily News Tuesday that she had 'no idea' about the homicide ruling. Scroll down for video . Homicide: The death of Tiona Rodriguez's infant son death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Tuesday - months after his October, 2013 passing. She is shown in October at a court hearing for shoplifting charges . 'No idea': The teen, pictured in October, told the Daily News Tuesday that she had 'no idea' about the homicide ruling. It's not clear if she will now face murder charges . Homicide prosecutors had been probing the case since the teen was arrested. She wasn't initially charged over the macabre find. The . then-17-year-old, was released without bail after she pleaded not . guilty to petty larceny and possession of stolen property charges. However . at the time, authorities said they couldn't bring charges over the dead . baby until forensic tests determined exactly how the full-term newborn . died. Preliminary . reports from detectives suggested the fetus was born alive and may have been asphyxiated. 'I . don’t want to ignore the elephant in the room, but we are only . arraigning the shoplifts,' Assistant District Attorney Robert . Hettleman told the court at the October hearing, according to New York Daily News. The court released Rodriguez' friend . Francis Estevez without bail and soon after more than a dozen uniformed . police officers and . detectives had descended on her Queens home with a crime scene unit . truck, a neighbor said. Arrests: Tiona Rodriguez (left) was carrying a . dead baby boy in her shopping bag when she was stopped on suspicion of . shoplifting with her friend Francis Estevez (right) in New York on October 17, 2013 . Police . believe Rodriguez gave birth in Estevez's home shortly before the shoplifting arrest. The . investigators spent two hours going through an upstairs apartment where . Estevez's family lives. The friends were arrested on October 17 in a . Victoria's Secret shop on 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The grisly discovery was made when the two girls were stopped by a . security guard as they left the store in Herald Square on suspicion of . shoplifting. But as well as . allegedly finding stolen goods inside the . bags, the guard noticed there was a strong odor inside and found a tiny . body under the loot. Rodriguez . told detectives she had delivered a day earlier and didn't know what to . do, authorities said. 'Shoplifting with a . baby in her bag the entire time certainly suggests a little bit of . difficulty following society's rules,' Hettleman said at the hearing, adding that the matter was still under investigation. Found: Investigators remove evidence bags containing the male fetus from the scene on Thursday . 'The . NYPD, my office and the office of the Chief Medical Examiner are going . to continue to vigorously and thoroughly investigate the matter relating . to the baby,' he told the Post at the time. An initial autopsy of the dead baby was . inconclusive, and more tests were needed to determine how the child died, according to the city medical examiner's office. But New York Police Department spokesman, . John McCarthy, said that the case was still being investigated and that . police were awaiting the medical examiners' determination of the cause . of death. After Rodriguez was arrested on Thursday she was taken to Bellevue Hospital and both girls were arrested on petit larceny charges. On her Facebook page late on . Wednesday night, Rodriguez had complained about period cramps, and . added that she was excited about an upcoming job interview at Chipotle. One of Rodriguez's neighbors said she was shocked to hear the teenager had been pregnant. Health problems: Tiona had complained of period pains the day before she was stopped in Victoria's Secret . Teen mom: Tiona, who has a two-year-old son, told police she had a miscarriage the day before . Shocking discovery: A police officer outside the Victoria's Secret branch where a fetus was found in a bag . Zami . Ford, 17, said: 'I've known her since she was little. She was probably . nervous and didn't know what to do. She would never hurt anyone.' She said she was unaware of the teen's pregnancy and was stunned by the allegations. 'She's a good girl. I can't believe she would do that.' Another . neighbor, Lydia Perez, said: 'She had to have hidden that pregnancy for . a while. I saw her outside here the other day with her family, and her . baby. 'There was a whole bunch of joy. You would never know there were . any problems.' Customers at . Victoria's Secret were also shocked to hear that a dead infant was found in . the store, but most sympathized with the schoolgirl. 'She must be going through a big depression. She must have been wondering how she was going to get rid of it,' Yvonne Sonera told the Daily News.
death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Tuesday - months after his October, 2013 passing. The child, who hasn't been identified, died as a result of homicidal asphyxia, a spokeswoman said, adding that he was alive for less than a day. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment to the New York Daily News on whether Rodriguez will now face murder charges. The teen, who has a she had 'no idea' about the homicide ruling. Tiona Rodriguez's infant son death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Tuesday - months after his October, 2013 Tuesday that she had 'no idea' about the homicide