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CHICAGO (WGN) Family members of a woman charged with murder after allegedly drowning her infant son in Lake Michigan spoke out Monday, calling the incident a mental health crisis.
31-year-old Surah Amon was charged with first-degree murder and murder with a strong probability of death/injury Monday morning after she was identified as the person who allegedly caused the death of a 1-year-old boy Friday night, according to the Chicago Police Department.
A source told affiliate WGN News that she is related to the boy. The baby has not been identified at this time.
Amon was supposed to appear for a detention hearing at 11:30 a.m., but was still hospitalized at the time. Her sisters, Claudia and Clare Amon, said they knew something was wrong the moment they heard about what happened.
“I want to say this should not have happened. This could have all been prevented,” Claudia Amon said. “Three hours before this happened, me and my sister made a call to police to have a mental health care team come out for my sister. When the police showed up, they told us there was nothing they could do because my sister was not being violent toward them.”
CPD said officers were called to the 7000 block of South Shore Drive, near South Shore Beach, at around 9:45 p.m. Friday for a service call.
Surah Amon was found by authorities in Lake Michigan.
The body of a 1-year-old boy was found shortly after and police allege that Amon drowned him.
“They’re not considering her state of mind. That’s what we want considered—her mental health,” Clare Amon said.
The sisters said Amon had a history of mental illness, and that her boyfriend contacted them about her Friday night.
“We received a text message from her boyfriend that she stays with, the baby’s father, that her mental state was not good at all,” Claudia Amon said. “He told us that’s what triggered us calling the police to get her admitted, because we knew something bad like this would happen.”
CPD has not responded to WGN-TV’s request for comment on the alleged 911 call placed Friday night.
Surah Amon’s detention hearing has been rescheduled for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.