Trial Begins Tomorrow for N.J. Dad Indicted In Death Of Baby Thrown Off Bridge
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Opening statements are scheduled Wednesday at the trial of a New Jersey man accused of throwing his 3-month-old daughter off a bridge.
Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem abducted Zara Malani-lin Abdur-Raheem from her grandmother's East Orange apartment in 2010 while the baby's mother was in court seeking a restraining order, prosecutors said.
Authorities say he eventually parked on the Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway and threw or dropped the girl into the Raritan River.
The child's body was discovered about two months later.
Besides the murder count, the 24-year-old former Galloway Township resident also faces charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and child endangerment.
The child had been missing since Feb. 16, when her biological father allegedly abducted her and threw her from the Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway. In May, DNA testing confirmed that the infant found on the bank of the Raritan River on April 24 was that of Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem.
Prosecutors believe Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem killed his daughter hours after taking her from her grandmother's apartment in East Orange.
The baby's body was found by people walking on the south bank of the river. Her clothing matched descriptions given to police when she disappeared.
"She was a nice baby, cute baby," neighbor Miseret Murdock told CBS 2. "I was shedding tears."
Abdur-Raheem remains in the Essex County Jail on $2 million bail.
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