A 23-year-old mother lost her life, and her 8-month-old daughter suffered injuries after someone pushed them both from a 15th-floor apartment balcony in the Bronx early Tuesday morning, according to the New York City Police Department.
The incident unfolded around 3:30 a.m. at an apartment complex on Olmstead Avenue. Responding officers arrived to find the victim , identified as Natalie Ramirez , and her infant daughter lying in the courtyard behind the building.
Officers rushed the infant to a nearby hospital in a patrol vehicle. Investigators revealed that Ramirez instinctively shielded her baby in her arms throughout the fall. Doctors initially admitted the child in critical condition, but she was later upgraded to stable condition. Ramirez, however, did not survive her injuries.
Witnesses inside the building described hearing yelling in the moments before the fall, with Ramirez desperately pleading, “Please don’t do this.” A neighbor living just two doors away said she had frequently heard arguments erupting from the apartment and pointed to visible damage on the outside of the unit as evidence of ongoing violence.
“I just walk out the door, I just hear him arguing, and then on the on their door apartment it’s like a big dent on their door from him,” the neighbor told Fox NY.
Investigators are handling the case as a domestic violence homicide, noting that police had previously responded to domestic violence calls involving the couple. Authorities are actively searching for Ramirez’s boyfriend or recent ex-boyfriend in connection with the deadly attack. As of Wednesday, police had made no arrests and are urging anyone with information to reach out to NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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