Prosecutors: Mom who tossed baby to his death said boy was possessed

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150810/us--baby_tossed_from_window-9cb93bf600.html

Aug 10, 1:51 PM (ET)
By COLLEEN LONG

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman accused of tossing her newborn son to his death from a fourth-floor window told police an evil spirit had taken over the boy, according to court papers Monday.

Rashida Chowdhury, 21, was being held without bail after her arrest late last week in the death of her month-old son, Rizwan.

Chowdhury initially told detectives that she had been asleep in the bed with her son and awoke to discover he was gone, but she later admitted she threw him out the window, police said. She said that he had been possessed by an evil spirit and had been sick recently, and she was "stopping the pain," according to court papers.

The baby had been hospitalized for three days with a viral infection, but had been discharged the day before his death and was recovering, officials said. He appeared to be in good health otherwise.

Investigators were trying to determine whether Chowdhury suffered from postpartum depression but no clinical diagnoses had been made.

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tags: child abuse,