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Crime

Lawyer Mother Leaps from 8-Story Building in Suicide Attempt While Clutching Baby — but Infant Survives!

Mar. 14, 2013 8:47am Jonathon M. Seidl

Mother Jumps 8 Stories to Her Death With Baby in Her Arms but Baby Survives

Wachenheim with her husband (Source: Facebook)

NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) — A woman clutching her baby son in her arms plunged eight stories out of an apartment window to her death in an apparent suicide on Wednesday, but the baby survived, police said.

Cynthia Wachenheim — who the New York Daily News describes as a Manhattan lawyer — was found on the street with her son, 10-month-old Keston, near her arms. A police officer who responded took the baby to a hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

Witnesses say the baby survived after he bounced off his mom on impact then rolling away.

New York News | NYC Breaking News

Police discovered a seven-page suicide note under a bed in the apartment Wachenheim shared with her husband. In the note, the 45-year-old Wachenheim said she recognized what she was about to do was “evil” but she was concerned about how her child was developing, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

It was unclear whether the baby, who neighbors said was an only child, had any mental or physical problems.

A window to the West Harlem apartment was wide open, and there were no signs of struggle inside, police said. There were no safety bars on the apartment’s windows. Surveillance footage showed Wachenheim’s husband leaving the apartment about an hour before her plunge from the window with the baby.

Area resident Steven Dominguez, 18, was walking to a grocery store with his mother, Adelina Dominguez, when he saw the woman fall. He said the baby bounced off her body, breaking some of the impact of the fall, before hitting the ground nearby.

“I heard a scream like a yell,” Dominguez said. “When I got closer, I saw the baby crying.”

He said the baby was face down.

“I was shocked,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Dominguez said his mother went to pick up the baby but an emergency response person told her to stand back.

Another neighbor described an argument between Wachenheim and her husband hours before the incident, the Daily News reports:

Wachenheim’s husband, Hal Bacharach, 48, was at work when his wife jumped, the source said. He was spotted on surveillance video leaving the upscale building at 12:55 p.m., less than three hours before the leap. Neighbors said he stormed out of their two-bedroom condo after a loud argument. Shouting echoed through the halls.

“He was yelling at her today,” said Christian Johnson, 37. “It made me stop and listen. He was asking her why she wouldn’t pick up the phone. He kept repeating it. Then, the baby started crying.”

A police source said Wachenheim was taking antidepressants and that pills were found in the apartment.

The apartment is in a relatively new building facing Jackie Robinson Park. A crowd of onlookers had gathered nearby Wednesday afternoon, awaiting the medical examiner’s office, which would determine the official cause of the woman’s death.

Resident Yaa Dwamena, 32, said she’s lived in the building for several years and as long as she’s been there she’s seen Wachenheim.

“She was very nice, very friendly, very warm,” Dwamena said.

She said that the last time she saw Wachenheim was last week.

“I wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong with her,” she said. “They were a happy-looking family. I wouldn’t think anything like this would happen.”

Wachenheim went to law school at Columbia University, and her father was a state police spokesman before his death in 2011. She worked in state Supreme Court in Manhattan doing legal research for judges, court officials said.

“We are all deeply saddened about this tragic incident,” state courts spokesman David Bookstaver said. “Our thoughts are with Ms. Wachenheim’s family.”

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Comments (60)

BikerMickAG
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:48am
Although it obviously took a considerable amount of Divine Intervention for the baby to survive, this is the way I wish all liberals would do it. Rather than having an abortion, have the child, allowing the innocent, defenseless child to have a fresh start, then give your own mother a retroactive abortion by jumping out of the nearest highrise window or some such action. Sounds like her post-partum depression was not being treated as vigorously as it could have been & was undoubtedly a factor.

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- EgoLacuna
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:01am
  I assume you think that because of your deep abiding belief in the value of all life. Do you have any insight into the bizarre hypocrisy of what you are saying?
  
  Report this comment
- Just_Us2
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:43am
  It is not hypocritical at all. The state puts criminals to death as punishment, and, to keep them from killing again. In the case of unwanted pregnancy, if a woman finds that living with the consequences of her actions to be too overwhelming, do not murder your baby. By all means, have the baby and kill yourself instead. Better to have an innocent baby than a murderer walking the streets, who, statistically is much more likely to kill again. It’s the typical mindset of a liberal. Your existence offends or inconveniences me, therefore, YOU must die so I don’t have to FEEL bad about my life.
  
  Report this comment
- YesLiberalsAreThatDumb
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 12:36pm
  @ Ego – You confuse the difference between INNOCENT and GUILTY.
  
  I had a lib ask me how I can be pro-life but pro-death penalty. I said when the unborn baby murders someone, that unborn baby should be tried and put to death.
  
  The fact that most libs have no problem with murdering innocent unborn babies AT WILL, but do have a problem with CONVICTED MURDERERS GETTING THE DEATH PENALTY is bizarre at the least. Why should tax payers have to shelter, feed and clothe a convicted murderer for the rest of their lives, AND have to subsidize the murder of innocent unborn babies?
  
  In other words, if you must take a life, TAKE YOUR OWN, NOT AN INNOCENT UNBORN BABY!
  
  Also, all the global warming alarmists, if you really believe that CO2 is poisoning the planet, THEN STOP EXHALING! If all the alarmists did this, the problem would be solved! TAKE ONE FOR MOTHER EARTH!!
  
  Report this comment
- EgoLacuna
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 12:36pm
  Really think this through…what is the principle that grounds a pro-life platform? Is it the value of innocence, or the value of life? If only “innocent” lives are worth saving, wouldn’t all sinners be eligible for death? Aren’t you a sinner?
  
  Report this comment
- DREDGE
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 1:49pm
  Better not to have had the baby, shoot the husband and jump out the window!!!
  A win, win situation!
  
  Report this comment
- BikerMickAG
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 6:26pm
  @ EgoLoco – It’s a question/matter of life, the innocence & defenseless factors merely compound the outrageousness of ******** employing denial to murder babies at will. We are all sinners & we are all going to die eventually, but at God’s hand in the natural course of events, not at the hands some ignorant, selfish, self-centered, & ultimately emotionally damaged female who could have taken advantage of better options for herself & the baby.
  
  @ Dredge – It already is a Win/Win/Win situation: 1. The baby lived. 2. The baby has a chance to grow up, make themself into the best person they can & contribute something better to this world. 3. The baby’s father gets to do his best to find the baby another role-model that will contribute to the raising of the baby.
  
  Report this comment
woodyee
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:42am
Hmm, 45 years old with an infant. Her baby could well be one of those Algore just LOVES to make fun of.

What a sad, sad incident.

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- Gonzo
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 12:57pm
  Sounds like the woman was a Margaret Sanger acolyte.
  
  Report this comment
COFemale
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:37am
Thank God the baby survived. He was the innocent in all this. Of course, I am not so sure he should be left in the hands of the father. He seems very abusive verbally based on this story. It is no surprise this woman would think about taking the life of her baby if he had development issues. Liberals can’t stand to have any child less than perfect, what would the neighbors and their elitist friends think. She may also have been still experiencing Post Partem effects from having the child 10 months before. I mean if they have no problem with abortion, they’d have no problem with suicide.

God have mercy on her soul, she is going to need it.

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Xanderson
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:30am
Here’s another stark example of how someone bent on murder/suicide will use whatever means available to them to commit their evil. Her clear intention was to murder her child. No gun needed!
Thank God she failed! Prayers for the little boy!!

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THX-1138
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:26am
Remember this; every time you say goodbye to someone it may be the last time you ever see them. I can’t imagine how this man must feel knowing he helped drive his wife to this with the last words he said to her. Her suffering has ended. His has just begun.

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- NONCENTS
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:28am
  That’s what suicide does, -it transfers all of one person’s pain onto the rest of their family and loved ones to carry for the rest of their days. Such a shame.
  
  Report this comment
- NONCENTS
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:46am
  I can’t help but see this as a little different: I think there are A LOT of women who have been sold into self-hatred by the “no sally, you dont need to play with dolls, here, have this nice brown truck” neo-nazi feministas that have rewritten what it means to be female over the last couple decades. Add in pharmaceuticals and the possibility of illness with the child (who could have been aborted just a few mere months ago) and you have a woman who’s come to the end result of an ideology which has nothing but destruction at it’s core. Death is the logical endgame for this liberal belief system.
  
  And yet, her last act on this earth was to cushion her child from a several story drop. Maybe she realized she was in the wrong en route? I hope so for her sake.
  
  In any event, may God bless and watch over you, little guy. You were very much meant to be here.
  
  Report this comment
- Hadituptohere
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 12:44pm
  sounds like postpartum depression … verry sad this wasn’t caught…political affiliation has nothing to do with this..shame on you all.
  
  Report this comment
Tom K
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:05am
What could this woman have been going through, real or imagined, that jumping out of a window WITH her baby was a better choice ? Suicide is so final and so selfish. May God forgive her and may God Bless her family.

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:59am
This shows the liberal mindset. She did not want a ‘slow’ child. Better to kill it and herself. Remember,…libs come up with ideas like socialized medicine which eventually turns into a selection process of who they deem worthy of care and who will die. Libs are pro-abortion and will literally give everything they own to keep abortion legal. Human life is not important to them. They are evil.

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- Gonzo
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 12:58pm
  Right on Carnac.
  
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TRILO
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:53am
Another tragic ending due to antidepressants. One of the side effects of these horrible drugs is increased risk of suicide and aggression. When are the people of this country going to wake up. Pills do not solve your problems.

I will pray for the life of the baby. How tragic.

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- Walkabout
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:09am
  I don’t know about the drugs.
  
  I wonder about an older woman having kids at such an old age. Time waits for no one. Make no mistake, I am firmly wedded to a 2 income family. I will not denigrate a stay at home mom.
  I will point out all the errors of the femi-NAZIs.
  
  I got to wonder about how healthy it is to live in New York City, wait ’til the end of your child bearing period, etc.
  
  Report this comment
TomSawyer
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:48am
Why kill the baby too?

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noslave
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:45am
her husband named bacharach?her name wachenhiem?WTF?they were lawyers?,were obviously obama demented democrats? you know the UN-BALANCED TYPES THAT BECOME MASS MURDERERS??yet whine we need gun control,one less i wont feel sorry for,there always a thorn/obstacle to normal american freedoms.

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beenaround
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:41am
“she was concerned about how her child was developing” – Read Expecting Adam – This is how liberals really feel about people with disabilities. As a NY lawyer she was probably embarrassed (in relationship to her peers and co-workers). When you can abort at a drop of a hat life has no value. It’s easy to “care” about the poor, etc, etc when you have no skin in the game but when it comes to them personally, liberals are brutal. I feel sorry for the child.

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- SocialistSlayer
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:49am
  I don’t feel sorry for the child – The child now has a chance in life without being under the wing of a Liberal Commie Pyscho Mom !
  
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Landon410
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:41am
just think of the womans death as a……. i don’t know…. 140th trimester abortion…..

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Locked
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:35am
What a tragedy; I pray the baby survives without permanent damage. Growing up knowing your mother tried to kill you along with herself will be hard enough… and I can’t imagine the father in this situation is going to come through without some mental scars as well. May God look out for both of them!

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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:33am
.
Well the world is a better place, one less laywer…..

Hope the HELL you woke up in is a horrible place for trying to kill your son…..

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Listen_then_think
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:31am
She probably was a lib and had no value system to support her. Sorry for the father and baby.

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IndyGuy
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:18am
“Suicide Attempt”?………I’m thinkin’ it was just a tad more than an attempt…

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trolltrainer
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:17am
Okay, it was NOT an attempt if it was successful. The Blaze should be more careful.

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- termyt
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:44am
  Yes, it was an attempted Murder-Suicide. Only the suicide was successful, so far.
  
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- trolltrainer
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:16am
  I see nothing about murder in the headline. I just read:
  
  Lawyer Mother Leaps from 8-Story Building in Suicide Attempt While Clutching Baby — but Infant Survives!
  
  Report this comment
nomemymine
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:15am
women who are successful in the logical world, are in for a rude awakening with the none logical world of babies. Especially if one has been working for a long time with adults. Then, if we expect ourselves to be perfect moms, then it is even harder.

On top of that, our hormones are going crazy, after having babies.

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- janaatmermanconstruction
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:29am
  I couldn’t agree more.
  
  Report this comment
- Granny58
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:31am
  You’re absolutely on target. Sounds like PPD in full bloom, probably exacerbated by worry over development. I don’t get from the story that she was a cold hearted lib. An educated woman of 44 knows how to prevent pregnancy and this was probably a wanted child. But you never know how your hormones are going to affect you until you’re there.
  
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searching for the Truth
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:10am
Watch ” Generation Rx ” on Netflix.

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P4cooler
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:09am
God’s Angels are HERE ALL THE TIME What a jaw dropping story Hallelujah

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biohazard23
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:07am
Wow….

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:18am
  Morning BIOHAZARD, Wow is right.
  
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- biohazard23
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:55am
  Morning, RJ. This is horrible on every level. Yikes…
  
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piper60
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:01am
The mother had no right to make that decision for her baby. I hope this kid has a long and happy life. The poor husband! Can you imagine getting that phone call? Prayers for him are in order, I’d say.

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NoMoMrNiceGuy
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:55am
God Bless

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FlagWavingPatriot
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:50am
Wow is that picture creepy!

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RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:50am
But, by the grace of God.

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- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:05am
  RJJ
  
  Yes sir that is correct. Very sad. Won’t judge her but can’t imagine doing that to my child no matter what. Really feel for her family and the child she has now left motherless.
  
  Was going to ask you something else but not appropriate on this page.
  
  Report this comment
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:16am
  OLDSURFRAT, It truly is a shame. I’ve had work a few suicides and it has always struck me to such a final solution to what is often a temporary problem. But, as long as she didn’t use a gun, our libs will be just fine with her actions.
  
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