Mom Accused of Murdering Baby Had Another Baby Who Died

Jennifer Berry now being investigated for 2008 death of infant son
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 1, 2015 9:45 AM CDT
Mom Accused of Murdering Baby Had Another Baby Who Died
A makeshift memorial for a newborn who died after being tossed from a seventh-floor apartment window sits in the building's lobby on Wednesday in New York.   (AP Photo/Michael Balsamo)

A 33-year-old Yonkers woman is being held without bail on murder and manslaughter charges after allegedly throwing her newborn daughter to her death out a seventh-story apartment window—and now prosecutors in Westchester are investigating the 2008 death of her infant son, the New York Times reports. "In light of what has transpired, we will be reviewing that death again," a spokesman for the Westchester DA wrote in an email to the Journal News about Jennifer Berry's previous child, who initially was believed to have died of sudden infant death syndrome when he was just over two weeks old. The spokesman adds that the first baby had been taken to the hospital one time before he was found dead in a bassinet at home. Another revelation in that case, per the Times: Just weeks before she gave birth to the baby boy, Berry left her employ with the NYC Administration for Children's Services, where she worked in the child protective services branch for about six months.

Berry's boyfriend, meanwhile, who isn't facing charges, told police that he thought Berry had had an abortion, that he was in another room both when the baby was born and when she went out the window, and that he had no idea either incident had happened, NBC New York reports. A woman seen going into Berry's home Wednesday had nothing to say, save, "It's a family tragedy, please go away," per the Journal News. Who did have a lot to say: Berry's neighbors, who tell People they're shocked by the baby's death. "I can't sleep since I found out that baby was thrown out a window moments after being born," one tells the magazine. "If I had that woman in front of me, I don't know what I'd do." (The body of a girl killed nearly 50 years ago was recently exhumed in hopes of finding out more about her case.)

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