Baby Tossed Down Air Shaft/Lucila Ventura/Guilty/Sent. July
Baby Tossed Down Air Shaft WEST NEW YORK, NJ-September 14, 2005 - Hudson County prosecutors say a teenage mom tossed her newborn down an air shaft minutes after giving birth in her West New York apartment. The boy survived the three-story plunge when he landed on a pile of cigarette cartons. Tenants in the building heard his cries and called police yesterday. Police arrested Lucila Ventura. The junior at Memorial High School is charged with attempted murder, child abuse and child endangerment. Her son weighs little more than seven pounds. Officials say he sustained a black eye and a non-life-threatening fracture to his skull. He's in good condition at Jersey City Medical Center. The state Division of Youth and Family Services will place the baby with either a relative or a foster family. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=3441503

Baby's Mummy Found in NJ Building WEST NEW YORK, NJ-September 15, 2005 - Another horrifying discovery at a West New York apartment building. The mummified corpse of an infant was found Wednesday in the same air shaft where one day earlier police had rescued a newborn allegedly tossed out a bathroom window by his teenage mother. Eighteen-year-old Lucila Ventura, a high school junior, was arrested yesterday and charged with throwing her newborn son out a third story window into the air shaft. She's facing attempted murder and other charges. Trash piled at the bottom of the shaft broke the baby's fall, and he survived. But he's in critical condition at Jersey City Medical Center with a skull fracture. When investigators returned to the scene today, they discovered the remains of a full-term baby beneath the cigarette packages and other trash. Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio says the baby died at least a year ago. But its gender and the cause of death haven't been determined. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=3445242

Arrests Follow Disposal of Newborns September 16, 2005 - Authorities say the teenage mother suspected of disposing of two newborns down an air shift in her West New York apartment was likely an incest victim. The 18-year-old's father is charged with aggravated sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse. Authorities are awaiting results of D-N-A tests. His daughter is charged as a juvenile with murder and as an adult with attempted murder. It all began when tenants heard a baby's cries on Tuesday. Authorities say the 18-year-old high school junior throwing her newborn son out a third-story window into an air shaft on Tuesday. The baby survived after falling on a trash pile. When investigators returned the next day, they found the remains of a baby girl that they believe died at least a year ago when the woman was 17. The Associated Press is not identifying the girl or her father because of the sexual assault allegation. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=3447823

Teen admits throwing newborn down air shaft Thursday, March 30, 2006 ASSOCIATED PRESS JERSEY CITY -- A mildly retarded West New York teenager has admitted she threw her newborn son down her third-story apartment's air shaft last September after she gave birth. The 18-year-old also said in court Tuesday that her 44-year-old father had tossed her newborn daughter down the same air shaft two years earlier -- and that he was the father of both the infants. The boy suffered a fractured skull but survived the fall, which was broken by old cigarette packages. The girl died; her body was found after the boy was discovered in the air shaft. DNA tests confirmed he was the father of both children. The boy is in state custody. The woman pleaded guilty in state Superior Court to reckless manslaughter and aggravated assault and faces seven years in prison when sentenced in July. The father has been indicted on aggravated sexual assault charges. Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio indicated that he might seek murder charges. The Associated Press is not identifying the daughter or her father because the teen is an alleged victim of a sex crime. The teen said in court that her father had abused her since she was 11 and sexually assaulted her since she was 14. http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1MjgmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MDcwMjQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz

Jersey Journal Update Wednesday, July 19, 2006 'Shaft baby' dad faces murder rap WEST NEW YORK — An indictment for murder and attempted murder was handed up today against Jose Julio Ventura, who is accused of repeatedly raping his teenage daughter and telling her to throw their two newborn infants down their apartment building’s air shaft, officials told The Jersey Journal. On Feb. 14, Ventura, 45, was indicted on the charges of aggravated sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and sexual assault, authorities said. His daughter, Lucila Ventura, who was 17 when the second baby was thrown down the shaft in September, has pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter and aggravated assault. Information she gave during her guilty plea was used against her father before the grand jury. “She said that not only was her father having sex with her but he ordered her to throw the first one out the bathroom window and the second one as well, and was present and assisted in both deliveries,” Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael D’Andrea said yesterday. The Ventura family’s bathroom window opens onto the air shaft. At a plea hearing on May 8 before state Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan, Ventura was expected to plead guilty to attempted murder, aggravated manslaughter and multiple counts of sexual assault but he then refused to do so. His court-appointed attorney, Carl Broege, said he was caught off guard by his client’s decision. The deal Ventura turned down would have put him in prison for up to 25 years but if tried and convicted on the charges in today's indictment he can face up to life in prison. Both father and daughter were arrested when their newborn baby boy survived a 30-foot fall down the air shaft and was rescued on Sept. 13. The following day, investigators found the mummified remains of a second newborn, a baby girl, amid garbage at the bottom of the shaft. Lucila Ventura is awaiting sentencing in the Hudson County jail in Kearny but no sentencing date has been set. Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said her sentencing will likely be postponed until after her father’s trial because she is expected to testify against him. She faces five to seven years in prison. Michaelangelo Conte http://www.nj.com/weblogs/print.ssf?/mtlogs/njo_jjupdate/archives/print162992.html

Metro Briefing | New Jersey: Jersey City: Sentence In Baby's Death Published: April 26, 2007 A West New York man who impregnated his teenage daughter twice and ordered her to throw both newborns down an air shaft -- which she did, killing one -- was sentenced yesterday in State Superior Court to 35 years in prison. The man, Jose Julio Ventura, 46, pleaded guilty in December to aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated sexual assault. Prosecutors say he started having sex with his daughter, Lucila Ventura, when she was 14. When a boy was thrown out in September 2005, the mummified body of his sister, who had lain in a heap of garbage for a year, was discovered. The boy survived. Ms. Ventura, now 19, has pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter and aggravated assault and is to be sentenced next month. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E5DB153EF935A15757C0A9619C8B63&scp=1&sq=Lucila+Ventura&st=nyt