Over the weekend, Brooklyn residents witnessed a disturbing act involving 24-year-old Dejhanay Jarrell hurling her two young kids out of a two-story window before jumping herself. According to the NY Daily News, she was completely naked as she tossed her two-year-old son and four-week-old infant, and allegedly continued to assault her infant while on the ground. Police now believe that Jarrell, who mentioned being tired and not getting enough sleep, may have suffered from a mental illness, which isn’t uncommon in women post-childbirth.
Witnesses were alerted to the Brownsville neighborhood apartment by the sounds of children screaming around 11 AM on Saturday, June 12, the NY Daily News reported. Nearby neighbor Shandie Harrison told the news outlet about the scene, “We saw the newborn, we started screaming. It was three of them naked on the ground, the mom, the newborn baby and another little child.”
Harrison later claimed that she witnessed Jarrell holding her four-week-old baby by their leg and hitting their head twice on the ground.
According to the NY Daily News, another neighbor, Carl Chin, saw the two children already on the ground, with Jarrell ready to jump from the second-story window.
“I looked up and see the mom completely naked, standing at the edge of the fire escape, and she just leaped off (and) kind of landed on the kids too. I just ran outside cause I knew I had to do something,” he told the NY Daily News.
Police say mental illness may have been involved when a New York mother threw her two young children, including a newborn, out of a second-story window before jumping herself. https://t.co/NUWQCOk0lg
— WBKO Television (@wbkotv) June 14, 2021
Chin then called the police and intervened to help the children, grabbing the baby from the struggling mother. “I had to struggle with her to pull the baby out of her grasp,” he said, adding that Jarrell seemed thankful for his help.
“She actually said, ‘Please take care of my baby, take care of my daughter,’ after throwing them out the window. So there was the sign right there. Mentally she wasn’t stable,” Chin continued. The Brownsville neighbor added in an interview with WCBS, “She was basically tired of being alone and not getting enough sleep,” offering more information into why Jarrell did what she did.
Police also believe that Jarrell, who recently gave birth, may have been suffering from mental illness, WCBS reported. Postpartum depression and the less common mental illness postpartum psychosis are often misunderstood and largely unknown, even by some new mothers.
According to Medical News Today, Black women are more susceptible to suffering from postpartum depression. Still, they are 57% less likely to receive mental health treatment for it when compared with white women.
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Postpartum psychosis is somewhat less common, happening to about one to two women out of every 1,000 new mothers, according to Healthline, and can include more severe mental health effects like suicidal thoughts, violent thoughts, hallucinations, erratic behavior and more. Women experiencing these symptoms should seek help immediately and never ignore them.
All three were rushed to a local Brooklyn hospital where medical staff found that Jarrell and her two-year-old son were in stable condition. The infant child, however, remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Jarrell was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and two counts of child endangerment on the same day.
Police are still investigating the case and what led Jarrell to the horrific incident.
