Boy's Aunt charged with attempted murder, pushed him into Lake at Navy Pier

Update: Cook County Circuit Court Judge Susanna Ortiz denied bail for Moreno during a Wednesday bond hearing, despite defense arguments that she suffers from mental issues. Ortiz called Moreno’s alleged actions “intentionally brutal and heinous,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that 3-year-old Josiah Brown was pushed Monday afternoon into Lake Michigan by his “beloved aunt” who then stood by as he sank to the lake bottom off Chicago’s Navy Pier, where divers found him a half-hour later.

*The child’s grandfather, Dan Brown, told WLS-TV on Tuesday that the family needs “a lot of prayer right now.”

“Everybody’s prayer helps,” Brown said. “God makes things happen. That’s what we are banking on right now.”

CHICAGO - The Aunt of a 3-year-old boy has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after she was reportedly caught on surveillance video pushing him into Lake Michigan at Navy Pier, authorities said.

Victoria Moreno, 34, of the 900 block of Greenview Avenue in suburban Des Plaines, was charged with attempted first-degree murder on Wednesday after authorites say she pushed her 3-year-old nephew into the Lake while they were at Navy Pier on Monday afternoon.

Moreno was reportedly taken into custody about an hour after the incident happened.

Police said that surveillance video caught Victoria Moreno push her 3-year-old nephew into the water and make no attempt to rescue him. The boy was later pulled from the water by emergency crews and taken to the Lurie Children's Hospital where he is in extremely critical condition. The boy was reportedly already in cardiac arrest by the time emergency crews were able to pull him from the water. He is currently on life support.

According to WGNNews, the boy was under the care of his grandmother and, when she went upstairs to change on Monday, the Aunt took the boy.^[1]

The official charges Moreno faces are as follows:

• One (1) felony count - Attempted Murder in the First Degree
• One (1) felony count - Aggravated Battery of a Child under 13 resulting in Permanent Disability

Moreno is due in court later today.

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