The woman who allegedly gave birth in the bathroom of a Bronx apartment, then threw her newborn daughter out a seventh-floor window to her death last month has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges.
Jennifer Berry, 33, entered the plea Tuesday. She was arrested shortly after the child was found in a courtyard in University Heights Sept. 28. The medical examiner confirmed the baby had been born alive and found the cause of death to be blunt trauma consistent with being thrown from a window.
Authorities say Berry hid her pregnancy from her boyfriend, telling him she had had an abortion. It was while she was visiting him at his home that she allegedly delivered the child and killed her.
The baby girl still had her umbilical cord attached when authorities arrived.
Berry declined to speak to reporters after her initial arrest. She faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the charges against her.
Christopher McKniff, a spokesman for the city's Administration for Children's Services, said the agency has launched a probe in the case. Authorities said privacy laws prohibited the agency from commenting on whether child welfare investigators had ever interacted with the family before.
Investigators have also reopened their case in the death of Berry's 2 1/2-week-old son seven years ago. The boy was found dead in the basement of Berry's home. A medical examiner ruled he died of natural causes related to sudden infant death syndrome but prosecutors decided to reopen the case in light of the current allegations against Berry.
