Photo: Getty Images
34-year-old Victoria Moreno threw her 3-year-old nephew into Lake Michigan on Monday afternoon, and the entire incident was captured on a Navy Pier surveillance camera. According to WGN9, the child is currently on life support at Lurie Children's Hospital and has suffered from multiple heart attacks since the incident.
Bystander Ashton King was walking by the pier with a girlfriend when they heard the splash. They saw Moreno looking down into the lake and were immediately horrified.
“We saw him floating on his back. We turned to her and we’re like, ‘Do you know him? Were you with him when he fell in? Are you with him?’ And she never gave me a clear concise answer. … I called 911 and on 911 I was frantic. ‘There’s a child in the water.’ I was trying to get my bearings so they could find us,” King explained to WGN9.
Both women took their shoes off and were about to jump in after the child, but realized that the drop was too steep and there would be no way for them to get back up. A chilling photo of Moreno has surfaced that detailed her calmly standing by the pier with a blank expression as first responders were working to rescue the child.
“She looked unwell, like she wasn’t really all there. It was bizarre to me,” King shared. Moreno initially told police that she was also a witness before telling them that she was actually the child's aunt. WGN9 mentioned that Moreno has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a child. She has been denied bail and is due in court on September 30th.