ABC

A maintenance worker alerted authorities after he smelled a bad odor coming from the toddler’s apartment.

The boy told police he tried to get food from the refrigerator but couldn’t open the door, Union Police Director Daniel Zieser said. The boy also had rubbed lotion on his mother in an apparent attempt to help her, leaving behind his handprints, Zieser said.

ABC

Police forcefully entered the apartment and found the woman lying dead in her bedroom.

“He made a statement to the officer that ‘There’s plenty of food in the refrigerator, but I couldn’t open the door,'” Zieser told New York radio station WCBS. “So that’s kind of sad that nobody checked on him, no family members. It’s sad, very sad.”

The discovery was made Tuesday after a maintenance worker reported a bad odor coming from the apartment. The door was ajar but locked with a chain.

Once police forced their way in, they found the woman’s body in a bedroom. The county medical examiner was conducting an autopsy to determine the time and cause of death.

The woman wasn’t being identified until relatives could be notified. Police don’t suspect foul play.

The boy was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Read more: NY Daily News