Eyewitness News is told the mother, Gloria Arroyo, repeatedly stabbed the infant on the couch of her second-floor home at 147 Butler Street at around 10:30 p.m. Arroyo also stabbed herself.
According to police, Arroyo had been temporarily living with the family of the baby's father, Jose Bell Sr.
One relative got the knife out of her hands as another forced her outside, Giaquinto said. Then, the family soon made an even more gruesome discovery on the couch: The lifeless body of little Jose Bell Jr., covered in stab wounds.
The boy's father, Jose Bell Sr., who had been down the block with friends, arrived and tried to stop the child's bleeding as the family waited for authorities to arrive, Giaquinto said.
On Thursday, votive candles, stuffed animals, flowers and balloons covered the sidewalk leading up to the family's home as neighbors and friends struggled to understand why the young mother may have committed such a heinous act.
Police said there was no immediate indication that Arroyo was mentally ill.
The boy, Jose Arroyo, was pronounced dead of multiple stab wounds to the chest. The suspect was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson for treatment of her wounds.
Police say Arroyo, known in the neighborhood as "Peachie," is charged with murder and weapons charges. She is also going under a psychiatric evaluation.
Candles, stuffed animals, flowers and balloons covered the sidewalk leading up to the family's home as neighbors and friends struggled to understand why the young mother may have committed such a heinous act.
Police said there was no immediate indication that Arroyo was mentally ill.
Neighbor Wanda Alvarado, 30, told The Record of Bergen County how she had seen Arroyo out on her front porch with her child on Wednesday evening.
"He was as cute as a little butterball. He had a big Kool-Aid smile," Alvarado said of the baby called affectionately nicknamed "Ocho" by his family.
Hours later, Alvarado heard a commotion in the house and the baby's uncle yelling, "Why, Why, Why?"
---
WEB PRODUCED BY: Lakisha Bostick & Scott Curkin
Click here for more New York and Tri-State News
