Uptown Mother Charged With Murder for Dropping Newborn From High-Rise Window

By Mae Rice in News on Nov 14, 2015 5:40PM

A 19-year-old Uptown woman, Mubashra Uddin, has been charged with first-degree murder for dropping her newborn daughter from an eighth-story window, police say.

According to CBS police sources, she was motivated by family opposition to her having a mixed-race baby; she is of East Indian descent, and the father is African-American.

Uddin is slated to appear in court today for a bond hearing, the Sun-Times reports. Late Wednesday night, a passerby discovered the suspect’s baby—severely injured and with her umbilical cord still attached— in front of a high-rise in the 800 block of West Eastwood Avenue. The child died just after arriving at Weiss Memorial Hospital, about a block from where she was found.

In the ensuing autopsy, the Cook County medical examiner found that the newborn died of multiple blunt force injuries, and the death was ruled a homicide. At the time of her death, she was thought to have been beaten, but the investigators have since unearthed evidence of a fall.

Meanwhile, in the patch of grass where her daughter was first discovered, a memorial of teddy bears and other symbols of love has sprung up to commemorate her short life.

Illinois safe haven laws allow babies up to 30 days old to be turned over to police stations, hospitals and other safe haven sites, no questions asked.