NEW YORK, NY – A 15-month-old boy was found dead in a Queens bathroom Monday after his mother allegedly killed him with pills as part of a failed murder-suicide attempt, prosecutors say.
Nicole Boodhai, 28, now faces murder and child endangerment charges in the death of her son Charlie Ramraykha. She was discovered with self-inflicted cuts on her wrists from a box cutter and was hospitalized in stable condition before being taken into custody.
Officers responding to the Queens home found the toddler unresponsive in the bathroom. Pills were scattered near his body, and detectives believe the child ingested them. No external trauma was found on Charlie, though the medical examiner is conducting additional testing to confirm the exact cause of death.
The tragic discovery came after Boodhai called the boy’s father to tell him what had happened, according to reports. The parents did not live together.
A neighbor recounted hearing disturbing sounds from the home before police arrived.
“The first scream was a man, very loud, aggressive,” the neighbor recalled. “The second one sounded like a child screaming in fear.”
Investigators are treating the case as a failed murder-suicide, with Boodhai allegedly planning to kill both her son and herself. The cuts on her wrists were described as self-inflicted, though they weren’t life-threatening.
Charlie Ramraykha was just over a year old. Court records show his parents had been living separately, with Boodhai serving as the primary caretaker.
Boodhai remains in custody awaiting arraignment. She faces significant prison time if convicted of murder charges in her son’s death.
The Queens District Attorney’s office has not released additional details about what may have led Boodhai to allegedly take her child’s life.
