May 04, 2015
An Allentown mother who allegedly tossed her infant off a bridge has been charged with murder, CBSPhilly reports.
The mother, 19-year-old Johnesha Perry, and her baby boy are in serious condition after officers rescued them from the Lehigh River in Allentown following an attempted murder-suicide on Sunday.
Perry is charged with attempted homicide, assault and endangering welfare of child. She is being held on $100,000 bail.
According to NBC 10, police say the woman threw her child from a 52-foot high Allentown bridge into shallow water below and then jumped in behind him.
Witnesses reported that the mother was pushing the child in a stroller along the Hamilton Street Bridge around 1:45 p.m. when she stopped midway and tossed the boy into the water, according to investigators.
When police arrived moments later, the mother was reportedly found conscious on the river banks. Two officers, identified as Joseph Iannetta and John Leonard, located the baby 700 yards downstream, took him from the river and successfully revived him by performing CPR.
Both the boy and the mother were rushed to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. The child remains in serious condition.
