6-month-old girl dies after being thrown from New York window; mom arrested

ByJim Dolan and Kala Rama WABC logo

Friday, October 16, 2015

Mother charged after child dropped from window

Kala Rama reporting from Bronx

NEW YORK -- A 6-month-old girl who was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest after she was thrown out of a window in the Bronx Thursday has died.

Responding officers rushed 6-month-old Janillah Lawrence in a police cruiser to St. Barnabas Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:28 p.m.

Officers detained the girl's 27-year-old mother, Tenisha Fearon, at the apartment where they found three other children. She was charged with second-degree murder and is described as emotionally disturbed and was transported to Bronx Lebanon Hospital for evaluation.

Witnesses reported her dangling the infant out of the sixth-floor window, shouting about the devil and that the world was going to end. Some yelled at her not to drop the child.

"And then that's when the neighbors started screaming, 'No, no, no, no,' and they started screaming," neighbor Lizette Rodriguez said. "They were yelling at her, 'Don't do it. Think about it.' And there were people who stopped, but she wasn't...'I'm going to throw the baby out the window,' and she was screaming, 'We're all gonna die.' And that's when I figured, 'OK, this is time to call 911.'"

Many people saw the incident, and said it seemed to unfold in slow motion. They said they saw a woman, allegedly Fearon, screaming about God, Satan and at the end of days, as she threw things out her sixth-floor window. Finally, she held her own 6-month-old daughter.

While Rodriguez was dialing, she said she heard the horrific and sickening thump.

The other children -- a 4-year-old girl, 8-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy -- were also in the apartment, along with another parent. The children were not injured, but they were taken to St. Barnabas for a precautionary evaluation.

An ACS spokesperson released the following statement Thursday evening: "We are currently investigating the circumstances that led to this tragic incident and are actively working to ensure the well-being of the three remaining children in this household."