A 31-year-old father accused of pushing his estranged girlfriend from a 15th-floor Bronx balcony as she held their eight-month-old daughter has been arrested.
Angel Carrasco was taken into custody on Wednesday by US Marshals and officers from the New York Police Department.
The arrest came one day after 23-year-old Nathaly Ramirez fell from her Bronx apartment early Tuesday morning.
Carrasco allegedly shoved Ramirez over the balcony while she was carrying their daughter, who is also named Angel.
Residents and emergency crews found Ramirez and the baby critically injured below the building. Both were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Doctors were unable to save Ramirez. Her infant daughter survived the fall but remains in critical condition.
Investigators say the alleged attack occurred after Carrasco visited Ramirez in an effort to repair their relationship.
The attempted reconciliation allegedly turned into a frightening confrontation after Ramirez rejected Carrasco’s efforts to reunite. He is accused of losing his temper and pushing the young mother and their baby.
Nathaly Ramirez, 23, fell from her Bronx apartment early Tuesday
Angel Carrasco, 31, was arrested Wednesday by US Marshals and NYPD officers
Ramirez and her baby fell from the 15th floor of this Bronx apartment building
Carrasco allegedly fled after the incident, leaving behind a bouquet of flowers he had brought for Ramirez.
He remained at large while detectives worked to reconstruct the events. On Wednesday, the NYPD issued a wanted poster featuring a disturbing image that appeared to show Carrasco handling a large kitchen knife inside an elevator.
Several hours later, US Marshals and NYPD officers located Carrasco and arrested him.
‘This horrific tragedy weighs heavily on every team member who worked this case,’ US Marshal Ricky J Patel said. ‘We owed it to the brave mother who gave her life to save her child from a vicious individual.’
He continued: ‘While nothing can undo this terrible loss, taking this suspect off the street ensures he will answer for his alleged heinous actions.’
The arrest has also renewed scrutiny of Carrasco’s alleged history of violence involving Ramirez.
Law enforcement sources said the estranged couple had already been involved in two domestic incidents earlier this year.
On January 5, Carrasco was accused of slapping Ramirez and leaving her bruised after she confronted him about communicating with a former girlfriend.
Three days later, Carrasco was arrested again after another dispute. Sources said he was accused of breaking into Ramirez’s apartment and waiting inside, resulting in a burglary charge.
That case was later sealed.
Carrasco was also accused of previously sending threatening text messages to another former girlfriend, according to sources.
His record includes at least two other arrests dating back to 2016 involving allegations of false impersonation and marijuana possession.
The final moments before Tuesday’s tragedy were heard by residents inside the 18-story building at 2550 Olinville Avenue. Tenant Robin Mendzies recalled hearing a man’s voice cutting through the building, followed by the sickening sound of the fall.
‘Jump!’ the male voice allegedly shouted, Mendzies said. Then came a huge thud, followed by the horrific sound of a woman crying, ‘No please, no!’
The arrest has also brought renewed attention to Carrasco’s alleged history of violence involving Ramirez
A memorial decorated with candles and flowers for the slain mother was constructed outside the apartment building Wednesday
‘It sounded like she was begging for an inevitable thing not to happen,’ Mendzies recalled.
A tiny diaper and baby onesie lay strewn near the scene.
Police officers and emergency workers crowded the area as the tragedy unfolded, while residents looked on.
By Wednesday, the frantic activity had given way to a makeshift memorial for Ramirez. Candles flickered outside the building beside arrays of bouquets and a photograph of the young mother. An ‘October is Domestic Violence Month’ poster stood among the tributes, adding another poignant layer to the gathering.
Friends remembered Ramirez as a young woman whose world revolved around her baby. Her high school friend Dominique Rosado described Ramirez to the Post as a devoted mother and suggested that even in the terrifying final moments of her life, her instinct was to protect her daughter.
‘In the last moment of her life, she was protecting her daughter,’ Rosado said. “That’s what it means to be a mother. She was a good mother.’