13 Page Suicide Note |
Cynthia Wachenheim, who works as an attorney with the Manhattan Supreme Court, was on maternity leave to care for her 10-month-old son Keston Bacharach when she wrote the disturbing note. According to a NY Times source, Wachenheim was convinced that “two shameful incidents” — in which Keston had fallen off a bed and off a play set — had damaged him for life, and she blamed herself for both.
She wrote that the two falls had caused Keston to suffer seizures and concussions, and that his behavior had been altered — even though her pediatrician, friends and family members didn’t see a change. She claimed he was crying more than she was used to, and that he slept more.
Wachenheim wrote that the guilt of her son suffering because she had failed to protect him was what led her to the “evil” act she would commit.
On Wednesday, she strapped young Keston to her chest in a baby carrier, and dove out of the apartment she shared with husband Hal Bacharach. Some witnesses would later report hearing a gunshot after mistaking the awful sound of her body hitting the ground. Miraculously, Keston survived the fall — suffering only bruises.
A neighbors who lives two doors down from the couple’s apartment told Pix11 he heard them arguing about three hours before she jumped.
Christian Johnson told Pix11, “When I came home, they were arguing. And I actually stopped to listen, and I heard screaming, and the baby was crying. He just kept saying why wouldn’t you pick up the phone, why would you put that stress on me? Why wouldn’t you pick up the phone, why, why? He was screaming, why, why?”
Neighbor Regan Connolly said, “I’ve lived in New York city for 30-years and I’ve seen all sorts of tragic accidents, killings.” Connolly says this is one death she just won’t be able to forget.