Woman dead, infant badly injured after being pushed from 15th-floor balcony of Bronx building, police say

A mother and her 8-month-old child were pushed from the balcony of a Bronx apartment building on Tuesday morning, the NYPD said.

The mother died. Her little girl's condition has improved to stable.

Police investigators spent hours before sun-up examining the 15th-floor balcony at 2550 Olinville Ave. for evidence. Some time later, they were seen canvassing the area looking for surveillance video and witnesses.

The NYPD received a call just before 3:40 a.m. about two people needing help at the residential building in the Allerton section. When they arrived, they said they found a woman and child with injuries "consistent with a fall."

"Further investigation determined that both individuals had been pushed from a balcony," the NYPD said.

The woman, identified by police as 23-year-old resident Nathaly Ramirez, was pronounced dead at the scene. The child was rushed to the hospital.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson wrote on social media, in part, "We are praying for their family as the baby remains in critical condition and hoping for their recovery during this incredibly difficult time."

Police sources say the NYPD is now looking to question Ramirez's ex-boyfriend as part of the investigation.

One woman said she heard screaming from a nearby apartment, and then a loud sound before she saw the baby on the ground.

"I was sleeping and I heard a bunch of noise, dogs barking and yelling, 'Oh my god, please don't do this. Look at my baby's face,'" she said.

Yvette Richards has lived in the building for more than 30 years.

"I been through that, losing a child, and I know what that is, and now it's happening in my own building," Richards said. "It's just devastating."

For others, anger boiled over.

"What kind of love is that? You throw someone out from the 15th floor? That is terrible. That is evil. That is devious," said Aylyn Restituyo, who lives nearby. "What did someone, a child, [do] to you, a woman, that you had to throw them from the 15th floor?"

"I feel like I have seen her in the elevator once or twice. I heard she was fairly new. It's just, it's sad. I mean, I don't know. I just hope they catch who did this," resident Tammy Cruz added.

Domestic violence group We All Really Matter, or WARM, held a vigil outside the building later Tuesday.

"There is a mother who lost her life and infant child who is clinging to life," founder and CEO Stephanie McGraw said. "We know that domestic violence is killing too many women around this city."

"It's painful. I got children. I've been in domestic violence relationship. The hate in this country and world right now is incredible," Restituyo added.

Neighbors left flowers and candles by a photo of Ramirez outside the apartment building Tuesday evening.

"She was always nice," one neighbor said. "The baby was so incredibly sweet and happy."

The investigation is ongoing.