A woman was plucked from the Hudson River on Tuesday, after sources claim she jumped in to the water.
The incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide. The woman allegedly jumped in with her toddler.
This incident comes several weeks after another toddler fell into the East River, that time accidentally.
In the last blog post about the East River toddler incident, we discussed the implications of the Good Samaritan Law and what New York personal injury attorneys look out for when dealing with cases of rescue. But this time, we're focusing in the criminal element.
Whatever the woman's motives were, she was depressed and attempted to commit suicide. But she also endangered the life of her 19 month old. As a lawyer and a parent of a toddler, I'm somewhat disturbed.
On one hand, there is some sympathy to be had for the woman. From the little we know about her, she was 34 years old and a recent immigrant from India. She had a tryst with her husband, after which she ran down the pier and thrust herself into the cold waters of the Hudson River.
Now, that wouldn't necessarily be cause for criminal action. I'm sure New York criminal defense attorneys aren't too concerned with an individual who attempted suicide.
But a murder-suicide? Now, that's a whole different ballgame.
In this woman's case, I stress again that I do not have sufficient details as I write this. Hopefully, I'll have more to write about as details emerge. But if she is charged, she may be allowed to benefit from a defense of insanity or possibly, heat of passion, if her New York criminal defense lawyer can pull it off. Again, it's very hard to say without full details.
I'll keep readers posted as this story develops.
Related Resources
- Mystery Man Saves Toddler from East River (FindLaw's New York Personal Injury Law Blog)
- Mom Sentenced to Max in Child Neglect, Murder Case (FindLaw's New York Criminal Law Blog)
- Find a New York Criminal Defense Attorney (FindLaw)
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