Father Of Baby Found In East River Brought Back To New York: NYPD

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — The father of an infant found dead in the East River Sunday is back in New York after he fled to Thailand, said police.

The NYPD arrested Bronx resident James Currie, 37, when he landed in JFK Airport Thursday night after he was detained by Thai authorities in Bangkok. Currie dumped the body of his 7-month-old son, Mason Saldona, in the East River and attempted to flee the country, police said.

He was initially charged with concealment of a corpse early Friday morning, officials said.

The boy's body was discovered floating in the East River near the South Street Seaport Sunday — in nothing but a diaper.

Currie picked up the child from the Bronx home of the mother, Julia DeJesus Saldana, on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Twenty minutes later, footage shows Currie entering his Co-op City apartment building with the infant, who was alive and apparently healthy, according to police.

The next day at 1:30 p.m., Currie, who worked as a station cleaner for the MTA, was seen leaving his home with a backpack converted into a baby carrier on his abdomen with a blanket concealing the bag. Police believe little Mason was inside the pack and that he died in Currie's apartment.

It remains unclear how the child died, police said.

Currie boarded a flight to Bangkok at JFK airport Monday afternoon but was never admitted into the country. He faces a year in prison for a charge of concealing a human corpse. The investigation is ongoing and the charges may be upgraded.

Lead image: A NYPD officer stands guard as authorities investigate the death of a baby boy found floating in the waters near the Brooklyn Bridge. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)