Father Charged for Dumping Baby in NYC River

The father of a baby found dead, dumped in a New York City river, was extradited from overseas and arrested upon arrival in the United States.

James Currie, 37, attempted to flee after allegedly dumping his son, Mason Saldana, in the East River.

He was arraigned on Aug. 10 on the charge of concealment of a human corpse and ordered held without bail until his next appearance on Aug. 15, reported WABC.

Investigators said in the complaint filed against Currie that the father carried his baby in a backpack from his Bronx apartment to the river and tossed the boy into the water near the Brooklyn Bridge.

Investigators said that Saldana, seven months old, was last seen alive on Aug. 4.

He was found on Aug. 5 on an embankment wearing only a diaper.

Tourists who found him said they called the police.

“We called 911 immediately,” Austin Campbell from Stillwater, Oklahoma told CBS.

“They told my dad not to jump in the water. It [had] only been five minutes since we seen it so he jumped in the water, pulled the baby out. Started doing CPR on it for about five minutes and then the cops showed up and paramedics took it to the ambulance.”

A New York Police Department officer stands guard as authorities investigate the death of a baby boy who was found floating in the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge in the Manhattan borough of New York on Aug. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted, File)

Police officers said that Currie could face more charges following the baby’s autopsy.

A formal complaint against Currie alleged that he taunted the baby’s mother before tossing the boy into the water.

“The good news we [sic] will never see each other again,” Currie texted the baby’s mother after she asked him where Saldana was.

He then told her that “I am not in the usa” and “you will never see [the victim] again,” reported the New York Post.

A source told the Post that Currie had been trying to get custody of his son.

“Sometimes you can know a person but you don’t really know him,” the source said. “I can’t believe he had that in him.”

Currie tried to flee to Thailand but was tracked down by Homeland Security Investigations, NYPD and Customs and Border Protection, reported NBC. Currie had connecting flights through Abu Dhabi and India before landing in Thailand where he was apprehended.

“The circumstances of the case are essentially irrefutable proof the defendant threw his infant son into the East River and very shortly afterwards planned a trip taking three flights,” said prosecutor Shawn McMahon, “ending up literally on the other side of the world.”

From NTD.tv