New-York tribune., 1912-03-11
HURLS BABY FROM ROOF;
JUMPS TO HER DEATH
Worried Over Illness Which Pre-
vents Her Nursing Infant,
Mother Ends Life.
TENANT SEES THEM FALL
Husband Is Found Asleep in Bed
and Is Overcome with Grief
When Told of Death OF
Wife and Child.

Mrs. Rose Strauss, wife OF a pedier
living on the fourth floor of the tenement
house at No. 31J East 95th street, was
found Yesterday lying in the rear yard
of her home her head in pool or blood
Five or six feet away lay Nathan, ner
three -months-old baby, who was dead.
The mother was rushed to the Reception
Hospital but died before anything could
he done for her. It is supposed that she
committed suicide by leaping from the
roof after throwing her baby to his
death.
Shortly before noon Louis Farkowitz
who lives on the first floor Of the house
was sitting by the rear window. when he
saw a dark object drop swiftly outside
Of the window Before he could rise
from his chair he heard crash on the
stone tagging of the yard When ne
looked out he saw the forms Of woman
and a baby. He called Patrolmsn Lar
kin. of the East 1O4th street station, and
then raj into the yard
Larkin summoned an ambulance and
then went to the yard himself He
found Mrs. Strauss unconscious. with
blood coming from a wound In the back
Of her head The baby had been in
stantly killed, its skull having been
fractured.
When an ambulance surgeon from the
Reception Hospital arrived he turned
his attention to Mrs. Strauss and found
that she was breathing very family
She was placed i'm the ambulance and
taken to the hospital. but died as she
was being placed on the operating table.
Her skull had been fractured in two
places.
After the mother and her child nad
been removed Patrolman Larkin started
an investigation In the Strauss apart
ment he found Simon Strauss, the
womsn's husband, asleep in bed When
awakened and told Of the death Of his
wife and child Strauss became stricken
with grief He said he did not even
know that his wife was out of bed.
Larln examined the windows looking
out into the rear yard. Every window
was securely locked. The patrolman
then went 10 the roof to see il the
woman had left any traces there He
found no evidences Of her having been
on the roof. except that the scuttle was
open.
Further inquiry among the tenants Of
the building disclosed the fact that Mrs.
Strauss had recently been told by ply
sician that she would be unable to nurse
her infant any longer, as the state of
her health would not permit it. This
had apparently preyed on the mothers
mind. All Saturday night the baby had
been III. refusing 10 take the food pre-
pared for II, and IL is thought that this
she decided to end her life and that of
her child.
According to the police. she could not
have fallen from "A window, as the fire
escapes were so arranged as TO make il
impossible for her body to have reached
the yard. 1t is believed that Mrs
Strauss threw the baby to the yard be-
fore lcaping herself, as when found the
bodies were lying several feet apart. II
she had held the infant i'm her arms as
she Jumped it is believed that she would
still have held the child in her arms
when found
Mrs Strauss had five other children.
all Of whom are young. After the bodies
had been removed to the Morgue Strauss
wandered from the house in an hysterl-
cal condition.