Father of van suicide children may escape charges after he pounded on mother's door minutes before river tragedy

DailyMail.co.uk

April 16, 2011

• Jean Pierre banged on the door in apparent violation of restraining order

• Ten-year-old escaped sinking van by climbing out of vehicle window

• LaShanda Armstrong snatched at boy's leg as the minivan sunk

• She said 'I made a mistake' and tried to reverse out of river

• Two boys, aged five and two, and 11-month-old girl drown in the tragedy

• Neighbours say Miss Armstrong was a 'devoted mother'

The father of three children killed when their mother drove into a river was heard 'pounding on her door for 30 minutes' before she drove off on the tragic suicide mission.

A neighbour of depressed mother of four LaShanda Armstrong heard boyfriend Jean Pierre shouting as he banged on her door - despite the fact he reportedly had a restraining order against him approaching the family.

Reports today claimed he may escape charges despite violating the order, however.

It is believed Mrs Armstrong 'snapped' after finding out her boyfriend and father of three of her four children - 26-year-old Pierre - was cheating on her by sleeping with another woman, according to allegations from a friend.

In despair, Mrs Armstrong loaded her minivan with the children and drove it into the Hudson River, seven blocks from their home in Newburgh, New York.

Mrs Armstrong and all but one of the children drowned in the car.

Speaking to the New York Daily news, neighbour Latoya James said: 'The dad was banging on the door real loud.

'He called to her, 'Open the f******* door' He was there about a half an hour - he was on the phone as well.'

After the confrontation the paper reported the only surviving child, 10-year-old Lashaun Armstrong, then tenderly opened the door and told Pierre: 'Daddy, I love you.'

According to Mrs James, Pierre then said: 'I love you too, man,' and kissed him on the forehead.'

A mere 15 minutes later, Mrs James saw Mrs Armstrong load her children into a van and drive the six blocks to the river's edge.

The new details came as Lashaun Armstrong was pictured today grinning as he bravely began a new life just two days after the multiple suicide.

Lashaun only escaped the doomed vehicle after climbing over his mother and out of the window, as she tried to snatch at his leg to pull him back inside.

Tragically it has since emerged that the 25-year-old mother of four may have had a change of heart and tried to reverse out of the river to save herself and her children.

Only half an hour before the suicide, she left a chilling message on Facebook before loading Lashaun his brother Landon Pierre, aged five, Lance Pierre, aged two, and 11-month-old sister Lainaina Pierre into the doomed vehicle.

LaShanda Armstrong wrote:'I’m sorry everyone forgive me please for what I’m gonna do… This is it!!!'

Neighbours of the couple said they could often be heard fighting with each other.

Jean Pierre was banned from contact with his 2-year-old-son, Lance in April.

The order came after the little boy was found in February wandering barefoot in the snow after Pierre had apparently gone out with another woman.

He was subsequently arrested three days later for endangering the welfare of a child.

The only survivor was her eldest son Leshaun who escaped by climbing over his mother and out the window next to her before the car went under.

But he told authorities that, as he escaped, his mother dramatically snatched at his leg before letting go.

Leshaun said his mother was saying 'I made a mistake. I made a terrible mistake' - and was trying to reverse the car out of the river - as it sank deeper into the murky water.

The shivvering boy was picked up by passer-by Maeve Ryan and taken to a nearby fire station, where he revealed that his mother had driven into the river with three of his siblings inside the car.

He told officers that his mother said 'I'm sorry, I'm going to do something crazy,' later adding:'If I'm going to die, you're going to die with me.'

Ms Ryan also told police that Laushaun told her that his mother 'went into the back seat and held them all together and said, "If I'm gonna die, you're all going to die with me",' according to the station.

Before the emergency services could respond, Landon Pierre, aged five, Lance Pierre, aged two, and 11-month-old Lainaina Pierre all drowned with Miss Armstrong.

Friends revealed that the source of the row was simmering resentment from Miss Armstrong about Mr Pierre's alleged infidelity.

Photos posted on Miss Armstrong's pages on social networking sites appeared to show the picture of happy family - one of her and Mr Pierre has the caption 'Alwayz Gon B'.

But behind the façade she was devastated, claimed Sharon Ramirez, who admitted to having a relationship with Mr Pierre.

The 22-year-old said she was sleeping with him for a while at the start of last year but the relationship ended.

She later became friends with Miss Armstrong, although she never admitted what she did, she said Miss Armstrong confided in her about her worries.

She said: 'On the surface Jean Pierre and her were the perfect couple but below the surface there were a lot of problems.

'He was sleeping around and when she confronted him about it he laughed. He left her at one point because she wouldn't put up with it. He was old fashioned and treated her like his territory.

'She'd had her suspicions about him and when she confronted him about a month ago he just laughed at her.

'When we were seeing each other he told me he had kids but not that he was seeing somebody, when he was.

'She must have just snapped. Knowing her and knowing the way she is, she just couldn't take it any more. Whatever he said that night, it was the final straw.'

Miss Armstrong's sister Darice told NBC's Today Show in an interview that Lashanda grew increasingly paranoid in the weeks before the tragedy.

She told the network that her sister 'felt someone was watching her', and described to her sister how 'lights in her home flickered on and off'.

She also said that her sister claimed that pages of her diary were missing and that she was constantly apologizing for 'hurting them' in the past.

It was originally thought Miss Armstrong let out one child and kept the other three locked inside the vehicle, but police said Leshaun got out of the car himself.

Leshaun is 'doing good' and 'taking it all in' after the tragedy, Miss Armstrong's aunt Angela Gilliam said. Ms Gilliam added she spoke to her niece earlier Tuesday and she was 'not too good'.

Tina Clayborne, who lived a few doors down from Miss Armstrong, said she was a 'devoted mother'.

'I'd always see her sitting out the front looking after her kids as they played in the street. Even her ten-year-old was careful of the others and if they even went near the road he would pull them away.

'The children were always well-dressed, well-behaved and had good manners. They would go to school every day and the school bus used to drop them off right outside the house. It's just awful.'

Jean Simeon, who lived next door to Miss Armstrong, said he never heard any disturbances from the house in his four months there.

'They were a quiet family and she was always happy. The day this all happened, I saw her about 1pm and she was bringing her kids back to the house.

'She seemed at ease, her usual self. She didn't seem like the kind of person to do this at all. I just don't understand, it's a tragedy. I can't imagine what her family are going through.'

Miss Armstrong picked up her four children from the Young and Unique Christian Development day care centre, and owner Desiree Watson said she arrived about six hours earlier than usual.

Ms Watson said: 'It did seem a little strange at first, but she said her work schedule would vary, so we didn't make much of it.'

On Wednesday Newburgh police chief Michael Ferrara detailed for the first time the fatal 15 minutes that claimed four lives, at a local press conference.

He said that at 7.45pm last night a relative of Miss Armstrong from outside Newburgh called police to say that she just received a call from the mother and that she had heard 'tussling' in the background - indicating some kind of row.

The relative was also aware of a 'history of domestic problems in the past', he added.

Officers went round to investigate but minutes before they did so Miss Armstrong drove off with her family in the minivan.

Mr Ferrara said that when she drove into the water, Leshaun reached over his mother's body and wound down the electric window on the front driver's side and slithered out before it was submerged.

Mr Ferrara refused to comment on whether or not there were any attempts by Miss Armstrong or the others to free themselves.

Leshaun swam back to the shore where he was picked up by a passer-by and taken to a nearby fire station at 8pm.

Mr Ferrara said: 'From what we've gathered so far it was Miss Armstrong's intention to drive the car into the water. Leshaun climbed out of the window when the vehicle was in the water.

'If that child had not escaped that car this would still be a missing person's inquiry.'

The three children who died were fathered by Jean Pierre, but Leshaun was not. Mr Pierre did not live with Miss Armstrong, said Mr Ferrara.

He said there were no recorded instances of domestic abuse between the couple but investigators were looking through phone records to see if there was anything of note.

Asked if Mr Pierre would be charged with anything, he would only comment that investigations were ongoing.

Newburgh fire chief Michael Vatter said that when the car went into the water it sank about 25ft out and went 8ft down.

Passer-by Meave Ryan, 31, saw some of the incident happen and drove Leshaun to the fire station when he came ashore.

'He was waving his hands, screaming "Help me!",' she told the New York Daily News. 'He said: "My mummy just drove the car into the water".'

'He is obviously very shaken up,' said Mr Vatter.

'When he came into the fire station he was having difficulty speaking and was repeating about the car being in the water with his mum and siblings.

'He was soaking wet and suffering from hypothermia - the water was about 40F.This case was particularly tragic. Given the circumstances it makes it all the more difficult for us.

'First responders tend to be young adults with children themselves so the ramifications of this with all the alleged circumstances can go very deeply into the psyche of the community.'

Christina Santos, 29, who knew Miss Armstrong from when she moved into her home nine months ago, said: 'She was very nice and she loved her kids, she worshipped the ground they walked on.

'I don't know what went on but she was always on her own when I saw her.'

The pregnant mother-of-two added: 'I don't know what was going on in her head but I couldn't do that to my children. It was always about her kids, they were her life.'

Newburgh mayor Mike Valentine said the tragedy was 'second to none' and that the city was going through a 'difficult time'.

'We are a strong town but this is unlike anything we've had to cope with before,' he told MailOnline.

Newburgh, which has about 30,000 residents, sits on the western shore of the part of the river that runs south through New York state and eventually splits New York and New Jersey.

Prosecutors review triple murder-suicide after woman drives into river

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 15, 2011

New York (CNN) -- Prosecutors said Friday they treating an incident in which a woman allegedly killed herself and her three young children by driving her minivan into the Hudson River as a triple murder and suicide.

"Based on all the information available, there is no one else who can be held criminally liable in this case," said Orange County District Attorney Frank Phillips in a statement.

It may take weeks before the autopsy findings are completed due to the need to receive toxicology results, Phillips added.

The sole survivor in Tuesday's tragic incident was 10-year-old Lashaun Armstrong, who escaped the sinking vehicle where his mother Lashonda Armstrong, 25, as well as his siblings -- an 11-month-old girl, a 2-year-old boy and a 5-year-old boy -- all died.

Police say an investigation into the incident suggests that the mother intentionally drove the vehicle into the Hudson in Newburgh, New York, some 60 miles north of New York City.

The woman who came to the aid of the Lashaun said that the boy was both courageous and terrified.

"He kept saying, 'It's my fault,' " Meave Ryan recalled.

The boy, hoisted himself out of the van's driver-side window Tuesday night, swam to shore and then flagged down Ryan by the side of a road.

Lashaun was waving his arms and calling out "Help me, help me, help me," Ryan said.

"He said, 'Mom just drove the car into the water,' " she added.

Ryan said she and the boy drove to the scene, wading into the water to look for survivors.

Lashaun said his mother "just went crazy," according to Ryan.

"She just speeded up and went into the water," Ryan added, recounting what Lashaun had told her.

The boy eventually recalled to Ryan that, as the car was moving, his mother climbed into the back seat and "had all her children cradled in her arms."

According to Ryan's recollection of her conversation with Lashaun, he quoted his mother as saying, "If I'm going to die... you're all going to die with me."

Lashaun told Ryan that he resisted and broke free, yelling out the window for help.

Ryan said the boy told her that as he was trying to escape, "maybe (his mother) had a break of reality," and she then cried out, "Oh, my God, I made a mistake."

She then climbed back into the front seat, the boy told Ryan.

But it was too late.

It took responders an hour of searching, using dive teams and a circling helicopter, to find the four bodies and the van submerged in eight feet of water, according to Fire Chief Michael Vatter.

Ryan said the boy told her that his mother had been frantic, packing her children into her minivan and racing off, because she thought she was being cheated on.

And before the incident, a relative called police reporting a "domestic disturbance" that police say may have involved the father of Armstrong's children.

That belief is based both on a phone call the relative received in which the relative reported hearing "tussling in the background," and a history of domestic problems in the family, police said in a statement released Wednesday.

Authorities declined to identify the relative.

Police said Thursday that they have ruled out potential criminal charges against the father of the dead children, Jean Pierre.

Police say they had previously arrested Pierre on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor, which stemmed from a February incident in which his 2-year-old son was found wandering the streets shortly after 1 a.m.

The boy was found in cold temperatures, only partially clothed in wet clothing, police said in a statement Friday.

Pierre was arrested three days later on February 10 alongside a woman named Shannel Baez, who police say gave conflicting accounts of being both the boy's babysitter and his mother.

Meanwhile, Newburgh Mayor Nicholas Valentine said Tuesday's incident is certain to have "a lasting effect on this city."

A neighbor, Christine Santos, said she "would never have imagined (Armstrong) to do this to her kids."

"To them little babies. I would have never have imagined. I'm in shock," Santos added.

Ryan said Lashaun -- the lone survivor -- is wracked with guilt that he wasn't able to unbuckle his baby sister or teach his two brothers to swim.

"He blames himself," Ryan said of Lashaun, who told her he only learned to swim last year. "That's the sad part."

CNN's Sheila Steffen and Deb Feyerick contributed to this report.

Family says LaShanda Armstrong acted oddly before Newburgh tragedy

Written by Larry Hertz - Poughkeepsie Journal

April 14, 2011

NEWBURGH — Family members of LaShanda Armstrong say in the weeks before Tuesday's tragedy she had been acting oddly.

LaShanda Armstrong had said she felt like someone was watching her and that pages of her diary had been missing, sister Darice Armstrong said in an interview with NBC News. LaShanda Armstrong also told family her lights had flickered on and off, her sister said.

In the interview, her brother, Lenny Armstrong, said, "She started calling family and apologizing and saying sorry and it was like nobody knew why."

The Newburgh police chief in the city where a mother killed herself and three of her children says investigators may never determine the woman's mental state when she drove her minivan into New York's Hudson River.

Newburgh Police Chief Michael Ferrara said investigators are hoping anyone who witnessed Tuesday night's triple murder-suicide come forward to provide more details.

On Thursday, police confirmed that Jean Pierre, the father of the three children who perished in the tragedy, had been arrested on Feb. 10 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

The arrest came after 2-year-old Lance Pierre was found wondering alone on William Street in the cold, with wet clothing on at 1:14 a.m.on Feb. 7. Police stated that Pierre was in charge of the child at the time.

A woman named Shannel Baez went to police shortly after the child was found, claiming, at first, to be his baby sitter, and then falsely claiming to be his mother, Lt. Patrick Arnold said.

Baez was charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor, following the incident. Arnold said the boy was released to the care of his mother after being evaluated at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital.

Now, two days after 25-year-old LaShanda Armstrong put Lance Pierre and her three other children in her van and drove into the Hudson River on the city's waterfront, investigators continue to try to find out why the woman committed such an unthinkable act.

"I don't know if we'll ever find out what Lashanda Armstrong was thinking when she left that home and drove to the river," Ferrara said.

Lt. Bruce Campbell said police had heard from at least two witnesses who said they saw a minivan speed through an intersection at the boat launch's entrance fast enough that the vehicle appeared to bottom out on the bumpy pavement.

"She went through it at a pretty good pace," Campbell said. The witnesses, motorists who had stopped at a stop sign, "just thought it was kids driving fast or acting up." They apparently didn't see what happened next, he said.

A steady stream of people went to the boat ramp today and friends and neighbors gathered to try to process the tragedy.

Ashonti George, 21, of Newburgh, laid a single red rose on the doorway to Armstrong's apartment Thursday morning. The two women were in the same math class at Orange County Community College. George said that usually Armstrong was an attentive student but wasn't herself during a Tuesday morning test.

"She was off," George said. "She didn't seem like herself. She seemed angry, off. That's the best way I can explain it."

People lit candles at makeshift memorials set up near the spot where the van entered the water. Natasha Colon and Nicole Callahan, both mothers from Newburgh, were among the mourners.

"I just wanted to say a prayer for them and for the boy who's going to go through a lot," Colon said.

Callahan added: "They were innocent babies."

Jay Vandervort of Newburgh, who said he was a friend of Armstrong's, also stopped by the boat ramp. He said he last saw her about a month ago.

"She just seemed happy-go-lucky, like everything's good," he said.

A makeshift memorial can be seen this morning at the boat ramp where the incident occurred. There are balloons tied to stuffed animals, white roses mixed in with other flowers and lit candles.

With the nicer weather, there are also a number of vehicles with boat trailers in the parking lot.

Another memorial was added to the door of her apartment made of three balloons and a pink stuffed Easter bunny. A picture of Jesus and some religious materials are attached to the door. Three lit candles were also burning.

Ferrara confirmed Wednesday that the woman and her three youngest children — 5-year-old Landon Pierre, 2-year-old Lance Pierre and 11-month-old Laianna Pierre — died in the cold, murky waters, while 10-year-old LaShaun Armstrong clambered out of the van and swam to safety.

And while police say they believe a domestic incident may have been a factor in the deaths, exactly what had triggered the tragedy remained unclear.

"LaShaun had difficulty speaking about the incident — he just kept repeating 'the car went into the water,' " Ferrara said Wednesday at a news conference at City Hall that drew about 50 reporters and photographers from local, New York City and national media.

Fire Chief Michael Vatter said the tragedy was one of the worst he had encountered in his more than 20 years on the job in the City of Newburgh.

"It's definitely one of the most horrible, not only because of the number of deaths but because of the circumstances surrounding it," Vatter said.

"The question we're all asking is, 'How did someone get to this point, to take her children's lives?' " he said.

Mayor Nicholas Valentine said he could not recall a worse tragedy in the city's recent history.

"This will have a lasting effect on us, but we are a tough city," Valentine said. "At times like these, we are all one and if anyone needs help, we are there for them."

Tuesday night

Ferrara said police received a call at 7:43 p.m. Tuesday from a relative of LaShanda Armstrong's — reportedly her aunt, Angela Gilliam — who said the woman and her children were in danger because of a "domestic violence incident."

The police chief said officers were dispatched to the woman's apartment at 53 William St. a few minutes later, but no one was home when they arrived.

Less than five minutes later, a motorist who found LaShaun — cold, scared and soaking wet — near the waterfront, picked him up and brought him to fire department headquarters about two blocks away, Vatter said.

Firefighters learned from the boy where the van had gone into the water and rushed to the waterfront near Gully's restaurant, just off Washington and Water streets, Vatter said. Firefighters Edward Diller and Brendan Hogan, wearing cold-water suits, plunged into the 40-degree water and began their search.

Ferrara said police received a call at 7:43 p.m. Tuesday from a relative of LaShanda Armstrong's.

Minutes later, trained divers from the fire and police departments arrived and began a wider search, Vatter said. By 8:15 p.m., they were joined by firefighters in the department's rescue boat and a state police helicopter that shone a spotlight on the surface of the water.

About 15 minutes later, a police diver, Lt. Bruce Campbell, found the van about 25 yards from shore, Vatter said.

Divers hooked a steel cable to the van and hauled it to the shoreline by a winch operated by a tow truck.

The fire chief said the incident had been "nerve-wracking.

"The question going around in my head was, 'How many kids will we find, and is it possible somebody is still missing?' " he said.

Attentive mother

As the police investigation continued Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Ferrara said, detectives interviewed Jean Pierre, the father of the three youngest children and the man believed to have been engaged in an argument with LaShanda Armstrong moments before she drove the van into the river.

Ferrara said Pierre had not been charged with any crime and added that police had never been called to the William Street apartment for any previous domestic violence incidents.

And neighbors of the family said they never saw any hints that such a tragedy may have been coming.

Several neighbors on Wednesday recalled Armstrong as an attentive mother who balanced care of her children with an outside job. They were shocked by the news.

"She was a very good mom," said Tina Claybourne, who lives nearby. "She took care of her kids. She always was with her kids."

Other neighbors said they did not know the woman's name or where she worked, but said the children seemed energetic and happy and would play on the block and ride bikes.

"You know kids, they make noise, they play around," said Shantay Means, a downstairs neighbor.

Desiree Watson, owner of the day-care center that all four children attended to varying degrees, Young and Unique Christian Development , said she heard news accounts about the incident about 6 a.m. Wednesday. She said none of the victims' names was mentioned in the news report, but she immediately feared she knew them.

Holding back tears Wednesday afternoon, Watson showed reporters photographs of the two youngest children.

LaShaun Armstrong is a student at the Newburgh Enlarged City School District's Gidney Avenue Memorial School, a magnet school, Butrick said.

Landon Pierre attended the district's Pre-K Center at Washington Street.

Valentine said City Councilwoman Marge Bell, a licensed social worker, had arranged for children at the two schools to receive appropriate counseling.

First responders

Once the bodies were taken out of the van and transported to the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies, Vatter's attention turned to the well-being of his firefighters, he said.

"I'm concerned about my guys," the chief said Wednesday afternoon as he reflected on the incident in his office.

Vatter said he knew some of those who took part in the failed rescue had children of their own.

"Firefighting is a young person's job, and some of my people have kids in the same age range (as those who were found dead)," he said.

Vatter said four counselors from the Orange County Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team arrived at the waterfront late Tuesday night to speak with the firefighters, emergency medical technicians and police officers about how to cope with the trauma they had endured.

"They were all told what resources were available to them and advised not to try to hold their emotions inside," the chief said.

He said he spoke to all of them before they went off-duty Wednesday morning.

"I told them whatever they needed, I'd get it for them," Vatter said.

The chief said he was proud of everyone who had responded, noting that an off-duty dispatcher, Donna Pawlowski, had come in to work late Tuesday night without being asked because she thought the dispatcher who was on duty, Ishmael Torres, could use some help.

"After what (Torres) had been through, (Pawlowski) thought he needed a break, so she came in to relieve him," Vatter said. "You learn a lot about the people who work for you during an incident like this."

Woman Tells of Boy’s Plea for Help After 4 Drownings

By James Barron - The New York Times

April 13, 2011

Meave Ryan saw the boy waving his arms as she braked to a stop behind a string of cars. The other cars went on through the intersection, but she rolled down the window. “He was screaming for help,” she said. “He said, ‘My mommy just drove the car in the water.’ ”

Ms. Ryan, 31, told the boy — La’Shaun Armstrong, 10 — to hop in. She drove the short distance to the boat ramp where he said his mother had driven into the Hudson River in Newburgh, N.Y. “I got out of the car and went halfway in the water to see if I could see their car,” Ms. Ryan said.

The vehicle, a black minivan, was already submerged. Ms. Ryan told La’Shaun to get back in her car, and they drove to Fire Department headquarters a few blocks away. It was all but empty; the fire trucks were out on a call. “We knocked on the dispatcher’s door,” Ms. Ryan said. It was 7:50 p.m. on Tuesday.

It did not take long for the horrifying meaning of the boy’s story to register: His mother, Lashanda Armstrong, 25, had done what La’Shaun had said — she had, in fact, driven the minivan into the river. La’Shaun had escaped, swimming through 45-degree water.

The minivan was in eight feet of water. La’Shaun’s mother was still inside, as were her three other children, identified by the police as Landen Pierre, 5; Lance Pierre, 2; and Lainaina Pierre, 11 months.

Ms. Ryan said that La’Shaun had told her why his mother was so upset. “There was an argument about cheating, that his stepfather was cheating on his mother,” Ms. Ryan said. On the short ride from their apartment in Newburgh to the boat ramp, La’Shaun told Ms. Ryan, his mother had called an older relative and said, “I’m sorry, I’m going to do something crazy, you have to forgive me.”

Ms. Ryan said La’Shaun had told her that the call had ended with the older relative saying she was going to dial 911.

The police sent officers to the apartment, but it was too late. Ms. Armstrong had already piled the children into the middle row and was on the way to what the mayor, Nicholas Valentine, called “a tragedy in this city that I would say is second to none.”

Ms. Ryan, who described herself as a “stay-at-home mom” who was on the way to see relatives in Fishkill, N.Y., said La’Shaun was clear about what had happened. She said he told her that Ms. Armstrong had grabbed the children as the minivan rolled into the water and said, “If I’m going to die, you’re going to die with me.” She said that La’Shaun broke free, rolled down the window and swam out.

He also told her that his mother tried to stop the tragedy that was playing out, but it was too late. He said that as the minivan began sinking Ms. Armstrong said, “Oh, my God, I made a mistake, I made a mistake.” He said she tried to shift into reverse. But the minivan was too far into the water to go back.

Ms. Armstrong’s neighbors said she had loaded the children into the minivan after a vicious argument with the father of the three youngest children, identified by the police as Jean Pierre, 26. He had been her high school prom date and had worked in a fast-food restaurant, neighbors said.

Mr. Pierre, by some accounts, had helped Ms. Armstrong with the responsibilities of caring for four children on limited means. But there were tensions between the two: Mr. Pierre did not live with Ms. Armstrong.

“From the outside, it looked perfect,” said Sharon Ramirez, 22, a neighbor and friend of Ms. Armstrong. “But there were a lot of things going on. They had a rocky relationship.” Ms. Ramirez was certain of that because, she said, she had carried on a three-month relationship with Mr. Pierre last year, when Ms. Armstrong was pregnant with Lainaina.

The first sign of the tragedy involved the argument at Ms. Armstrong’s apartment on a hardscrabble block in the center of Newburgh, about 60 miles north of Manhattan. The police chief, Michael Ferrara, said that a relative of Ms. Armstrong’s had called 911 around 7:30 p.m., saying that Ms. Armstrong was “involved in a domestic dispute.” Chief Ferrara said the caller described hearing “tussling in the background” during a call from Ms. Armstrong.

An aunt of Ms. Armstrong, Angie Gilliam, said she had called 911 after Ms. Armstrong phoned her father, who was at Ms. Gilliam’s house. Ms. Gilliam said she could hear “the kids screaming.” Ms. Armstrong, according to Ms. Gilliam, said there was a dispute with Mr. Pierre.

“Things didn’t sound good,” Ms. Gilliam said.

She and Ms. Armstrong’s father were so concerned that they drove to the apartment, arriving there to find the police officers who had been sent in response to her call, but no one else.

“It was too late,” she said.

The police said it was the first time they had been sent to the apartment since Ms. Armstrong moved there last year. The police also said Mr. Pierre had no criminal history of domestic violence. Chief Ferrara said that the police had questioned Mr. Pierre but that no charges had been filed.

Ms. Ramirez, who said she had had the relationship with Mr. Pierre, said she had met him when Mr. Pierre’s sister lived in Ms. Armstrong’s apartment before Ms. Armstrong and the children moved there a year ago. Ms. Ramirez said that Mr. Pierre told her he had children but denied that he still had a relationship with their mother.

One neighbor, Steve Sheehan, said Mr. Pierre and Ms. Armstrong did things as a couple, recalling how, in the warm-weather months, they would barbecue on a grill set up on the sidewalk.

But her landlord, John Boubaris, said that twice in the last year she had asked him to change the locks to keep Mr. Pierre out. The last time was two months ago, he said.

“She said she doesn’t want him here,” Mr. Boubaris recalled, adding, “He was here all the time.”

Still, the day that ended in death at the bottom of the river started with no sign of trouble. Mr. Sheehan said Ms. Armstrong and Mr. Pierre had loaded the children into the minivan in the morning. They would often go out to buy groceries or to do laundry. “It was a normal day,” Mr. Sheehan said.

Mr. Boubaris said he stopped by the apartment in the early afternoon. Ms. Armstrong was home with her son Landen, he said. He said Ms. Armstrong had been looking for a job and complained that it was hard to find baby sitters so she could work.

As for La’Shaun, the county agency responsible for child welfare issued a statement that said he was safe. Ms. Gilliam, Ms. Armstrong’s aunt, said he was “fine.”

“He’ll be staying with me,” she said.

Later, Ms. Gilliam and four family members went to the river, next to the ramp that Ms. Armstrong drove down. The relatives placed three stuffed animals and three white balloons on the concrete seawall. Then they sat down. Ms. Gilliam wept, and the others huddled around her.

“She’s a good mother,” Ms. Gilliam said. “Just because she drove a car...” Her voice trailed off. Then she said, “Nobody knows what my niece went through.”