Tiffany Farrauto New London Connecticut woman admits strangling 4-year-old son, David Jasmin. No known motive. Mother remains held on $2 million bail and on suicide watch.
Why? A Connecticut woman is facing murder charges after admitting to strangling her 4-year-old son after the boy was found unresponsive at a New London residence early Sunday morning.
Notice of the child’s death came after police responded to a call, circa, 6:27 a.m, about a woman hitting a parked vehicle with a bat in the parking lot of a New London apartment building, New London Police said in a Facebook statement.
The owner of the vehicle told officers that Tiffany Farrauto, 33, of New London, had allegedly struck the car with the bat, say police.
When officers spoke to Farrauto, she said, ‘Take me away,’ New London Police Chief Peter Reichard said at a press conference on Sunday.
When one of the officers asked her why she wanted them to take her away, ‘she indicated that she harmed her son and that her son was in the apartment,’ Reichard alleged.
Ordered held on a $2 million bond
She told officers she had ‘strangled’ her young son, who was in their apartment, police alleged in the statement according to WFSB.
Upon officers entering the unit, they found the child, identified as David Jasmin, ‘who appeared to be in some sort of medical distress,’ the chief said.
The child had no pulse, and was subsequently pronounced dead.
Police arrested Farrauto at the scene and charged her with two counts of third-degree criminal mischief.
While she was in custody at the New London Police Department, she was charged with murder and risk of injury to a minor.
Come Monday, Farrauto was ordered held on a $2 million bond.
An autopsy had been scheduled to be performed on Monday to determine a cause of death.
Mental health woes cited
Offered Mayor Michael Passero during a Sunday news conference in part, ‘Our community is hurting. I want to express my condolences to the grieving family of this small child. As we are a small city, we really are just one big family, so we all share in a loss like this.’
During a virtual court appearance on Monday, Farrauto’s public defender said the suspect had serious mental health problems.
According to social media profiles associated with Farrauto, she worked at Dunkin’ Donuts.
Judge Murphy ordered Farrauto be placed under a suicide watch, mental health watch and medical watch. The judge also ordered an evaluation to determine Farrauto’s competency to stand trial.
No known motive to the purported strangling of the four year old boy was immediately known as a small community continue to reel.
Farrauto is scheduled to appear in court again on March 22.