US mother accused of fatally throwing newborn daughter from 7th floor flat
Jennifer Berry is alleged to have hidden the pregnancy from her boyfriend before delivering the child at home
A mother and former child welfare officer who threw her newborn baby daughter to her death from a seventh storey flat in New York has been arrested.
Jennifer Berry’s daughter was found by New York police officers when they were called to her boyfriend’s Bronx apartment block at 2.30pm on Monday after receiving a call an infant had fallen from a window.
The baby, who was discovered with her umbilical cord still attached, died from blunt force injuries, according to an autopsy.
According to US media reports, it is believed Ms Berry, 33, hid the latter stages of her pregnancy from her 28-year-old boyfriend Giovanni Johnson and delivered the baby in his flat.
US media report a police source saying Ms Berry claimed she had given birth to the child in the shower but believing the child was not breathing had thrown it from the flat’s window.
During her arraignment on Tuesday night Assistant district lawyer for the prosecution Georgia Barker said: “She gave birth to an 8-pound girl and dropped the newborn seven stories to the pavement. The medical examiner has determined that the baby was alive”.
“There was air in the lungs, this was a healthy baby girl,” Ms Barker said, according to the New York Daily News.
Ms Berry has allegedly admitted to throwing the baby and the placenta from the flat's window, off W. 183rd Street.
Administration for Children’s Services records from 2007 and 2008 indicate the Yonkers resident worked for the agency for six months but had “minimal contact” with families, according to local newspapers.
Meanwhile, Mr Giovanni said he “didn’t know” about the pregnancy, claiming Ms Berry had told him she had undergone an abortion some months ago.
Kenneth Bolton, 29, who was visiting relatives at the nearby University Heights building when she was arrested, said: “It was more like (she was) not human. She was deranged, like she was lost.
“You know, when someone has a look in their eyes like they don’t know where they are?”
Ms Berry, who has reportedly been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, was remanded without bail and is due to appear in court on 5th October.