THE BRONX — A mother charged with murdering her 6-month old girl by throwing her out the window of her sixth-floor apartment had a license to run a family day care inside the same home, officials said Friday.
Tenisha Fearon, 27, got the childcare permit on May 1, 2013 to watch other people's kids inside her apartment at 2200 Tiebout Ave., near East 182nd Street in The Bronx, New York State Office of Children and Family Services spokesman Steve Flamisch said.
"She took care of a couple of kids, friends' kids, that's what she did, that was her job," said Fearon's longtime friend Natasha Williams on Friday.
That license allowed her to take care of up to six children during the day and two additional ones before and after school hours, officials said. It is unknown how many children she actually supervised, if any.
She had no complaint or violations filed against her, Flamisch said, although he couldn't immediately say how many times her facility was inspected.
The license expired on April 30, roughly three weeks after she gave birth to her youngest child, Jahnyla Lawrence, according to Flamisch and court documents.
Fearon did not apply for renewal and her program was closed, Flamisch said.
Fearon, who has three other children, was heard screaming "We are all going to die" Thursday afternoon before dropping Lawrence from the family's six-floor flat.
"The baby was crying. She held her by the underarms and I was yelling at her, 'Relax, relax! Calm down!'" according to a horrified neighbor who didn't want to give his name.
"A few seconds later, she just dropped the baby. (The baby) hit a tree and then hit the ground," the neighbor said.
According to the neighbor, Fearon then yelled "Freedom!" and went quiet.
During her arraignment on Friday, the prosecutor noted that Lawrence was naked and alive when she was dropped from the window and said that Fearon's three other children, aged between 4 and 10, were inside the apartment watching the horrific scene as it unfolded.
Fearon, who was wearing a grey "Gap Athletic" sweatshirt and sweatpants during her arraignment, was silent throughout, according to the Bronx District Attorney's office.
She was charged with murder and ordered held without bail. The judge ordered a psych exam for her along with medical attention and she is due back in court on October 21st.
The judge also ordered protective custody, which generally involve keeping the inmate separated from the rest of the population for safety reasons.
Her arraignment lawyer, Mitchell E. Ignatoff, asked that the protective custody be provided only if necessary because he didn’t want her to be “isolated", according to the Bronx District Attorney office.
Ignatoff could not immediately be reached for a comment.
Neighbors and relatives described Fearon as a loving mother and said they were shocked to hear what had happened.
"The person who did that is not Tenisha, she would never do that," said Williams. "I don't understand. I'm very upset."
"She loved her kids dearly so something must have gone wrong, she's a good mother," one of Fearon's sisters said on Thursday.
