A baby boy is dead and his mother is facing homicide charges after she allegedly tossed him off the Hamilton Street Bridge in Allentown, Pennsylvania during what investigators believe was a murder/suicide attempt.
According to NBC Philadelphia, witnesses say that Johnesha Monae Perry, 19, placed 1-year-old Zymeir Perry on the railing of the bridge, kissed him and then pushed him into the Lehigh River before throwing herself off of the bridge earlier this month. Incident reports say that the teen mother was seen pushing the baby across the bridge before stopping midway and taking him out of his stroller.
Two officers quickly arrived at the scene where they found the baby approximately 700 yards downstream. They performed CPR on the infant after pulling him out of the river. When it comes to what happened to Perry after the fall, reports seem to conflict a bit. While some outlets have reported that Perry was discovered unconscious along the river bank, The Morning McCall has reported that the teen walked out of the river and onto the shore. Witnesses say that before jumping, Perry said that it was her “time.”
Prior to the incident, neighbors say that the teen and infant were enjoying themselves at a neighborhood cookout. Perry and her baby were both rushed to Lehigh Valley Medical Center.
“She looked normal; the kid was playing in the yard. He was OK, you know, a happy kid,” neighbor Willie Lopez said. “It’s just sad, you know.”
Perry moved into a second-floor apartment in the neighborhood four weeks prior to the murder. Lopez shared that he would often see her walking the baby to daycare in the morning and picking him up in the afternoon.
“I see her and the baby is clean, cared for. I think, that’s a nice mother,” Margarita Galarza said. “I’ve got three daughters and sometimes you need help. Maybe there was nobody to help her.”
The 1-year-old remained in critical condition for several days before he was declared medically brain dead and taken off of life support. According to autopsy reports, his specific cause of death was blunt force trauma and drowning.
Perry was treated for minor injuries, including a broken arm, at the hospital, where she was guarded by county sheriffs. She was later released and taken into police custody. According to reports, she told investigators in an interview that she intended to kill her baby.
Prior to Zymeir’s death, Perry was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment. After the infant was taken off of life support, charges were upgraded to criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of a child.
While it’s probably easy to bash this young woman for the terrible decision that she has made, it is also apparent that she’s suffering from some serious issues. Hopefully, she receives the help and treatment that she needs. We send our prayers to the families affected by the terrible tragedy.
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