The baby, who appeared undernourished, was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was pronounced dead, police said. An autopsy found he died of starvation and dehydration, and his death was ruled a homicide, said Lt. Raymond Evers, a police spokesman.
Quasir had been living at the shelter with his mother and siblings, Evers said. The mother has not been identified, and police would not discuss her whereabouts. It was not known if the father was involved with the family.
No arrests have been made. The investigation is continuing.
The family did not have an open case with the city's Department of Human Services, sources close to the investigation said.
Rather, the mother was partaking in voluntary services, similar to parenting classes, "to help the family better serve the children," one source said.
Those services were provided by a DHS vendor, Lutheran Children and Family Service, sources said. No one at that organization could be reached Thursday evening, and it was not certain when a Lutheran Children social worker last saw Quasir's family.
The family's case was closed shortly before Quasir's death, sources said.
Alicia Taylor, a spokeswoman for DHS Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose, said she could not comment because state privacy law forbids her from discussing or confirming DHS involvement with a family.
Ambrose and Deputy Mayor Donald F. Schwarz, who is also the city's health commissioner, briefed Mayor Nutter on Christmas Eve about the boy's death.
"It's clearly a tragedy, and there will be a full investigation," Nutter said Thursday.
The Travelers Aid shelter is housed on the campus of the Kirkbride Center, which was once the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane and which now focuses on the treatment of psychiatric and addictive disorders.
Travelers Aid, a 109-year-old nonprofit agency, rents 40,000 square feet from the Kirkbride Center to house homeless families, said Ted Weerts, the executive director.
