Friends mourned 23-year-old Nathaly Ramirez as police investigated her death as a homicide and searched for answers about the balcony fall.
NEW YORK — An 8-month-old girl remained in critical but stable condition Wednesday after surviving a fall from a 15th-floor Bronx apartment balcony that killed her 23-year-old mother, Nathaly Ramirez, as police investigated the mother’s death as a homicide.
Ramirez and her daughter were found outside the Allerville Arms apartment building at 2550 Olinville Ave. in the Allerton section shortly after 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. Police said their injuries were consistent with a fall from an elevated position. Ramirez was taken to a hospital, where she died. Police transported the infant to Jacobi Hospital, and authorities said Wednesday that she remained critically injured but stable.
Authorities believe Ramirez fell in a way that helped cushion the impact for her daughter, according to local reporting. Other reports said Ramirez was holding the baby when the two fell. Police have not released a detailed reconstruction of the incident, and investigators continue to examine exactly what happened on the balcony and inside the apartment before the fall.
The baby’s survival became one focus of the community response outside the apartment building, where friends and neighbors gathered with flowers and candles for Ramirez. A friend told WABC that Ramirez had been happy to become a mother and described the baby as happy as well. The child’s name has not been publicly released in the reports reviewed for this story.
At the same time, the investigation into Ramirez’s death intensified. Police are treating the case as a homicide, and investigators believe Ramirez and the baby were pushed from the 15th-floor balcony, according to reports citing law enforcement officials and police sources. Detectives were looking to speak with Ramirez’s former boyfriend. No arrest had been announced Wednesday, and authorities had not publicly identified the person they were seeking.
Residents told local reporters they heard yelling before the fall. One witness told WABC that she heard a woman plead, “Please don’t do this!” shortly before seeing something fall from the building. Police investigators spent hours examining the balcony, canvassing for witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage as they worked to determine who was present and what happened before Ramirez and her daughter fell.
Reports citing police sources also described a history of domestic violence connected to the apartment. Some neighbors said they had heard previous disturbances there, and one resident told WABC about an incident earlier in the year involving a man trying to enter the apartment. Police have not publicly provided a full record of earlier calls to the residence or said what action resulted from them.
Early reports differed on the baby’s age, with some outlets initially describing her as about 5 months old. By Wednesday, police and several local news organizations reported that she was 8 months old. The updated reports also described her condition as critical but stable, providing the clearest public indication of her medical status since the fall.
Ramirez’s death left investigators with several unresolved questions, including the exact sequence of events inside the apartment and who was present when she and her daughter went over the balcony. Police continued to collect evidence Wednesday while friends and neighbors mourned Ramirez and waited for further information about her daughter’s recovery.
The homicide investigation remained active Wednesday, with no arrest publicly announced. Ramirez’s daughter remained hospitalized as detectives continued seeking Ramirez’s former boyfriend for questioning and reviewing evidence from the building.
Author note: Last updated October 7, 2026.