A New Jersey mother accused of killing her young autistic son and then attempting suicide has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, officials said Tuesday.
Nakija Martin, of Passaic, is facing a count of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the death of her 6-year-old son, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.
The charge comes weeks after authorities found her son unresponsive on July 15 inside of a residence in the Speer Village public housing on State Street.
The boy was pronounced dead just after 8:30 p.m., but his cause of death has not been provided.
Investigators believe 48-year-old Martin intentionally killed her child, and then unsuccessfully tried to take her own life. But as of Tuesday, she’s not facing any homicide-related charges.
If convicted, Martin faces up to 10 years for the child endangerment charge. She agreed to pretrial detention during a court appearance on Tuesday.
An investigation into the matter is ongoing and the prosecutor’s office has requested that anyone with information in the case to come forward.
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