QUEENS — The mother of a 3-week-old boy, who died Friday after being tossed out of a fourth-floor window at a Richmond Hill apartment building, was charged with murdering her child, officials said.
Rashida Chowdhury, 21, is accused of throwing her son, Rizwan Ahmad, from the bathroom window, more than 40 feet above the courtyard, at 85-55 155 St., authorities said.
Chowdhury, according to the Department of Corrections, is currently being held on Rikers Island without bail. She was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation Saturday during her arraignment hearing in Queens Criminal Court, the Queens District Attorney's office said.
The boy, who was born on July 18, had been sick recently and had to spend several days at Long Island Jewish Hospital. He was brought back home on Thursday, police said.
According to the criminal complaint, Chowdhury told investigators that she woke up between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Friday, took the boy to the bathroom and tossed him out of the bathroom window.
She told investigators that she believed “an evil spirit had taken over” the baby and that she was “stopping the pain,” according to court documents.
According to the criminal complaint, a neighbor heard a “thump” in the courtyard around 4 a.m and when she looked through the window, she saw the baby lying in the courtyard with severe head injuries.
The Medical Examiner's office ruled the death a homicide Friday and said the boy died from blunt impact to his head and torso, which resulted in skull fractures and lacerations of the brain. The boy also suffered liver and spleen injuries.
“This is a truly horrific and disturbing case of a mother accused of killing her helpless 3-week-old infant son by tossing him out of a window, where he fell more than forty feet to the pavement and died,” said Queens District Attorney, Richard Brown, in a statement.
Police said they questioned the 40-year-old father of the child, who was at home when Chowdhury tossed the boy out of the window, but he has not been charged.
There were also four other relatives in the apartment at the time, including two adults and two children, ages 3 and 8, police said. It was not immediately clear how they were related to Chowdhury.
No one else has been charged in the case as of Monday, police said.
“The alleged actions of the defendant are totally incomprehensible," Brown added.
If convicted, Chowdhury faces 25 years to life in prison, according to the Queens District Attorney's office.
Chowdhury is due back in court on Sept. 10. Information on her lawyer was not immediately available.
