Tragedy rocked Richmond Hill last Friday as a young mother allegedly tossed her three-week-old infant son out of a window in their 4th-floor apartment, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Rashida Chowdhury, 21, was remanded into custody after her arraignment on two counts of second-degree murder.
“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,” Brown said. “The alleged actions of the defendant are totally incomprehensible. She now faces serious charges that could lead to her spending the rest of her life behind bars if convicted.”
According to the criminal complaint, Chowdhury tossed her 3-week-old son, Rizwan Ahmad, from the bathroom window in their 4th-floor apartment shortly before 4 a.m. last Friday. The infant fell more than 40 feet, landed in the building’s courtyard and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, “the cause of death was blunt impact of his head and torso with skull fractures and lacerations of brain, liver, and spleen.”
The criminal complaint indicated that Chowdhury told investigators that “an evil spirit had taken over baby Rizwan Ahmad, that he had been sick recently, and that she was ‘stopping the pain.’”
Chowdhury’s next court date is scheduled for Sept. 10. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
By Michael V. Cusenza
michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
