Victoria Moreno ‘EVIL AUNTIE’ Pushes Tot Nephew off Pier – An Illinois woman is facing attempted murder and battery charges after police say she pushed her 3-year-old nephew off of Navy Pier at Lake Michigan.
Fox 32 reports that the incident happened at around 1 p.m. Monday, close to the 700 block of East Grand Avenue. Security footage reportedly captured the incident as Victoria Moreno, 34, pushed the child, identified as Josiah Brown, into the water and made no attempts to rescue him.
Fire officials said the child was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital, in cardiac arrest. He’s been placed on a ventilator and is not expected to live. Police added that the child had lung bleeding, a swollen brain, and had to have a heart infusion.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that bail has been denied for Moreno; Judge Susanna Ortiz heard arguments that Moreno suffers from a mental health condition, but Ortiz called the act “intentionally brutal and heinous.”
The judge also heard the details of the day in question and how Moreno “stole the keys” to the family’s truck before sneaking “out of the residence without anyone knowing that she had left,” State’s Atty. Lorraine Scaduto said.
Scaduto added that Moreno wasn’t allowed to drive because of her mental health issues and after she allegedly drove off last week with a group full of children, causing an “alarming incident.”
During the latest incident, Moreno initially wanted to take her nephew to an aquarium, then reportedly decided against it. Instead, she took him to get fast food at Navy Pier. Scaduto said the boy wandered in the street afterward and almost got hit by a car.
In response, Moreno allegedly grabbed Josiah’s hand and began walking near the water. The boy broke away and went to the edge of the pier, which drops six feet down into the water. He was reportedly on all fours under the chain at the platform’s edge.
“The defendant looked around her multiple times and waited for people to leave, looking around once again, and when no one was present she allowed the 3-year-old child to crawl back under the chain toward the edge of the platform — doing nothing,” Scaduto said.
Once Josiah was under the chain again, Moreno allegedly straddled the platform, then used both hands to push the boy into the water.
“Not once during any of these events did the defendant scream for help, call for help, ask for help or try herself to help,” Scaduto said. “When the police arrived, the defendant pretended not to know anything about the child.”
Around 30 minutes later, first responders pulled Josiah from the bottom of the lake, according to the prosecution.
“It is not likely that he will survive these extensive injuries,” Scadudo added.
Moreno is facing attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a child. She’s been assigned a public defender.
Aunt charged with attempted murder, accused of pushing 3-year-old boy into Lake Michigan near Navy Pier
CHICAGO (CBS) — A Des Plaines woman has been charged with pushing her 3-year-old nephew into Lake Michigan off of Navy Pier on Monday, leaving him in critical condition.
Victoria Moreno, 34, has been charged with one count each of attempted murder and aggravated battery to a child. She is scheduled to appear in bond court Wednesday afternoon.
Police said Moreno pushed her 3-year-old nephew into the water at Navy Pier on Monday afternoon, and made no attempt to rescue him.
Sources said the boy struggled for nearly 20 minutes before he was rescued by Fire Department divers.
The young boy remained in critical condition at Lurie Children’s Hospital Tuesday night.
CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar spoke Tuesday with a woman who was at Navy Pier and witnessed the horror. The woman, Ashton King, said she saw the boy floating and immediately jumped into action while the aunt allegedly stood by and watched.
King started the day on a boat tour at Navy Pier with a friend. But she quickly found herself in the middle of crime scene.
A shot from Chopper 2 Monday afternoon showed King standing alongside divers and police – who rushed to try and save the 3-year-old boy who sources says was intentionally pushed into the water by his aunt.
King: “We looked at what she was looking at, and we saw a little boy floating on his back.”
De Mar: “Was the woman doing anything to try and help save this boy?”
King: “No, nothing, zero. It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
King said the picture below shows the aunt standing by idly – watching as her nephew is pulled from the water.
King added that the aunt never showed any concern or panic.
“The red flags were there. She was acting very weird,” King said. “I did end up telling the officer, I said: ‘Listen,’ I said, ‘she was the only one here when we got here. She’s just been acting off – weird. Look, I just don’t know if she’s off. Something is not right.”
In radio transmissions right after the boy was rescued, a police officer was heard saying: “I have the aunt in my possession right now. She was on scene the whole time.”
Sources say Navy Pier surveillance video shows the aunt pushing the boy in the water. We have not seen the video.
The Chicago Fire Department has determined the boy went into the water at 1:23 p.m. Monday. They arrived at 1:32 p.m., had divers in the water by 1:35 p.m., and pulled the boy from the lake at 1:42 p.m.
“Just help. If you see something, just act,” King said. “I will never be able to unsee what I saw.”
The young boy is still fighting for his life at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
