Firetxmi
06-20-2006, 11:13 AM
Officials: NJ Mom Killed Daughter Before Jump
PERTH AMBOY, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- To the outside world, Jerlisa Contreras was happy, well-adjusted and loved life. But underneath her pleasant exterior, the 24-year-old woman grappled with depression that boiled over last week when she killed her baby daughter and then hurled herself to her death from a soaring highway bridge.
``She was not strong-minded; she was very weak when it came to how others saw her,'' said her sister Nieves Contreras on Monday, two days after the plunge that would claim her sister's life. ``It was depression. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and life is not as beautiful as you think it is.''
Jerlisa Contreras was ****ounced dead shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, authorities said Monday.
An investigation determined that she had already killed her 15-month-old daughter, Alyssa Scott, before throwing the girl off the bridge nearly 100 feet into the Raritan River on Friday morning. An autopsy determined the baby died from head injuries and asphyxia.
``The child was killed by smothering and being beaten beforehand,'' said Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch.
Investigators still do not know when or where the child was killed. They searched Contreras' home, but found no obvious signs that the slaying occurred there. The car Contreras was driving when she pulled to a halt on the also was to be searched.
Family members said Contreras was distraught over the breakup of her relationship with the baby's father. But they also said she had struggled with depression before that, alternating between good days and bad days.
``She was a happy person, and she loved her family to the end,'' Nieves Contreras said. ``She was very family oriented. But she took everything, every little problem too strong, made it bigger than it was. She thought she had to be perfect for everyone she met, like someone from the movies. She wanted everyone to love her.''
Jerlisa Contreras came to this country from the Dominican Republic with several relatives about 10 years ago. Sometimes the woman who friends called ``Fanny'' would excitedly look forward to shopping trips, buying pretty clothes and nice things that made her feel good. Other times, she had to drag herself out of bed to get to work at her job in a gas station convenience store when all she wanted to do was roll over and go back to bed.
Contreras was delighted when she had her second child, Alyssa, relatives and friends said. The two were rarely apart, and the toddler would cling to her mother, who would shower her with kisses.
``She was great with her daughter,'' said Rick Colon, a next-door neighbor. ``Her daughter was absolutely beautiful.''
But in recent months, Contreras' relationship with Alyssa's father began to sour and Jerlisa sank into a deep depression.
``She was just having boyfriend and girlfriend problems and stress,'' said her younger sister, 11-year-old Jennifer Contreras. ``She kept it to herself. She always hung on to stuff like that.''
A friend of Jerlisa's, Maritza Sanchez, agreed that the breakup of the relationship sent the woman into a downward spiral. The man involved declined to speak to reporters last week. His phone number was not listed and he could not be reached for comment Monday.
Before the breakup, Contreras talked often with her sister, Nieves Contreras, who was caring for Jerlisa's young son in Texas.
``She would share her hopes and dreams,'' Nieves Contreras said. ``We talked about buying a house here for my mom so we could all live together.
On Friday morning, Contreras took Alyssa with her in her 1992 Chevy Corsica. She stopped near the center of the Victory Bridge, which links Perth Amboy to Sayreville. She got out, threw the child's lifeless body into the water, then called a cousin, Alexandra Contreras, saying she had already killed her daughter and was about to jump to her own death. Alexandra tried to call her back, but there was no answer.
As they worked Monday to make funeral arrangements for Contreras, relatives struggled to make sense of what had happened.
``Only God knows what happened on that bridge that morning,'' Nieves Contreras said. ``We just ask people not to misinterpret what she was like, and to please keep us in their prayers. In her mind, it might have seemed like the best thing to do at the time.''
Link:http://www.1010wins.com/pages/48084.php?
PERTH AMBOY, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- To the outside world, Jerlisa Contreras was happy, well-adjusted and loved life. But underneath her pleasant exterior, the 24-year-old woman grappled with depression that boiled over last week when she killed her baby daughter and then hurled herself to her death from a soaring highway bridge.
``She was not strong-minded; she was very weak when it came to how others saw her,'' said her sister Nieves Contreras on Monday, two days after the plunge that would claim her sister's life. ``It was depression. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and life is not as beautiful as you think it is.''
Jerlisa Contreras was ****ounced dead shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, authorities said Monday.
An investigation determined that she had already killed her 15-month-old daughter, Alyssa Scott, before throwing the girl off the bridge nearly 100 feet into the Raritan River on Friday morning. An autopsy determined the baby died from head injuries and asphyxia.
``The child was killed by smothering and being beaten beforehand,'' said Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch.
Investigators still do not know when or where the child was killed. They searched Contreras' home, but found no obvious signs that the slaying occurred there. The car Contreras was driving when she pulled to a halt on the also was to be searched.
Family members said Contreras was distraught over the breakup of her relationship with the baby's father. But they also said she had struggled with depression before that, alternating between good days and bad days.
``She was a happy person, and she loved her family to the end,'' Nieves Contreras said. ``She was very family oriented. But she took everything, every little problem too strong, made it bigger than it was. She thought she had to be perfect for everyone she met, like someone from the movies. She wanted everyone to love her.''
Jerlisa Contreras came to this country from the Dominican Republic with several relatives about 10 years ago. Sometimes the woman who friends called ``Fanny'' would excitedly look forward to shopping trips, buying pretty clothes and nice things that made her feel good. Other times, she had to drag herself out of bed to get to work at her job in a gas station convenience store when all she wanted to do was roll over and go back to bed.
Contreras was delighted when she had her second child, Alyssa, relatives and friends said. The two were rarely apart, and the toddler would cling to her mother, who would shower her with kisses.
``She was great with her daughter,'' said Rick Colon, a next-door neighbor. ``Her daughter was absolutely beautiful.''
But in recent months, Contreras' relationship with Alyssa's father began to sour and Jerlisa sank into a deep depression.
``She was just having boyfriend and girlfriend problems and stress,'' said her younger sister, 11-year-old Jennifer Contreras. ``She kept it to herself. She always hung on to stuff like that.''
A friend of Jerlisa's, Maritza Sanchez, agreed that the breakup of the relationship sent the woman into a downward spiral. The man involved declined to speak to reporters last week. His phone number was not listed and he could not be reached for comment Monday.
Before the breakup, Contreras talked often with her sister, Nieves Contreras, who was caring for Jerlisa's young son in Texas.
``She would share her hopes and dreams,'' Nieves Contreras said. ``We talked about buying a house here for my mom so we could all live together.
On Friday morning, Contreras took Alyssa with her in her 1992 Chevy Corsica. She stopped near the center of the Victory Bridge, which links Perth Amboy to Sayreville. She got out, threw the child's lifeless body into the water, then called a cousin, Alexandra Contreras, saying she had already killed her daughter and was about to jump to her own death. Alexandra tried to call her back, but there was no answer.
As they worked Monday to make funeral arrangements for Contreras, relatives struggled to make sense of what had happened.
``Only God knows what happened on that bridge that morning,'' Nieves Contreras said. ``We just ask people not to misinterpret what she was like, and to please keep us in their prayers. In her mind, it might have seemed like the best thing to do at the time.''
Link:http://www.1010wins.com/pages/48084.php?