Woman, unborn baby dead after jump from Schenectady house

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Mohawk Ambulance personnel perform CPR on a 31-year-old woman who fell from a balcony at 924 Delamont Ave. in Schenectady on Tuesday, August 9, 2016. She is listed in serious/critical condition at Ellis Hospital.

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A 31-year-old woman and her unborn baby died after the woman jumped Tuesday evening from a house in Hamilton Hill.

The woman, who was naked, fell on the concrete driveway from the porch of a two-story home at 924 Delamont Ave. around 7 p.m. and was given CPR by paramedics from the Schenectady Fire Department.

She was transported by Mohawk Ambulance to Ellis Hospital, where she was initially listed in critical/serious condition, Schenectady police Sgt. Matt Dearing said Tuesday evening.

Dearing said Wednesday morning that doctors delivered the baby Tuesday night but that both mother and child later died.

He said detectives determined that the woman intentionally jumped from the house. Dearing said they think she lived there, but that has not been confirmed.

Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett said Wednesday afternoon that the medical examiner has not yet ruled the incident a suicide, but that it is not considered a criminal case and that it was determined the woman intentionally jumped.

Bennett said the medical examiner’s report would determine whether there were other factors involved, such as drugs in the woman’s system or if someone assisted her to commit suicide.

“If you assist someone it is a crime,” he said. “But right now it’s not a criminal case.”

Dearing said the woman’s identity would not be released due to the nature of the incident.

Bennett said the names of suicide victims are not released to the public because they are noncriminal investigations.

“That’s not a criminal matter under state law, and it serves no valid public interest and is an invasion of privacy,” he said.

Police were interviewing neighbors and witnesses in the area of Delamont Avenue and Craig Street on Tuesday evening.

It is unclear why the woman jumped.

Dearing said the incident is being investigated like any case — criminal or noncriminal — and that details of the investigation would not be released.

Reach Gazette reporter Haley Viccaro at 395-3114, [email protected] or @HRViccaro on Twitter.