New York - Murder Charge For Mom Rescued From Hudson


New York - A Manhattan mother is facing attempted murder charges Wednesday morning after being accused of doing the unthinkable: tossing her baby and herself into the chilly waters of the Hudson River. 

Devi Silvia, 33, is facing charges for assault and endangering the welfare of a child, in addition to the murder charge, in what police are now calling a murder-suicide attempt. 

Just before noon Tuesday police say the distraught Upper West Side mother was pushing her 19-month-old daughter in her stroller near the pier on West 70th Street when she suddenly threw her daughter into the frigid Hudson and then jumped in. 

Lane Beauchamp was out for a stroll with a friend and her godson when they noticed in empty stroller on the pier. 

"We thought it was odd for an empty stroller to be sitting there, so we started looking around for whom it might belong. Then I spotted the woman, clutching the baby, in the water," Beauchamp told CBS 2. 

Beauchamp yelled down to the woman to see if she needed help, but she gave an unusual response. 

"The woman just sort of waved," he said. "The wave seemed like a response to my question and she was indicating they were fine, but there was an eerie calmness about it. It was too cold to be out for a casual swim." 

That's when Beauchamp called 911. Fortunately, the harbor unit had a police boat only a mile away near the Intrepid Air Sea and Space Museum. They arrived in two minutes. An FDNY Marine unit also arrived on the scene and both the NYPD and FDNY boats rescued the pair before it was too late. 

"As the moments passed, you could see them both begin to bob more in the water and go underwater for longer periods of time. The two eventually separated and you could just see them both floating in the water, seemingly lifeless," said Beauchamp. "Then the NYPD boat swooped in and plucked the baby out. A few moments later, the FDNY boat grabbed the woman." 

Rescuers performed CPR on the child, who was conscious and coughing by the time an ambulance arrived. 

"She was still lifeless, somewhat gurgling, a little bit of breath coming out," said EMS Ben Kalinsky. 

They were taken to New York Presbyterian Cornell Weill Medical Center where both were listed in serious condition. It is reported that the baby is doing well Wednesday morning - even playing with toys at the hospital.

Police questioned Ms. Silvia's husband at the scene. She had been with her husband just before she jumped into the water after the couple reportedly had a fight. 

CBS 2

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Huge Japan Quake Cracked Open Seafloor

Index for a million documents on Polish Jewry to go online

A lot of the bread in the US will no longer be kosher