Scandalized Teacher And Son Found Dead In Apartment
This is so sad. 36-year-old Felicia Barahona, a former teacher at Dewitt Clinton High School, was found dead in the living room of her West Harlem apartment with an electrical cord tied around her neck Monday, according to NY Post reports.
Her four-year-old son Miguel was found dead in the bathtub, where he’d drowned. Both were discovered around 8:30 am after the building super called 911, revealing he’d climbed onto the fire escape outside their third-floor apartment on West 153rd Street and spotted Barahona’s body on the floor from the window. The super had gone to investigate after smelling a foul odor.
Police haven’t revealed whether they’re seeking a suspect or if the deaths are believed to be the result of a murder-suicide however, a police source says Barahona’s body is believed to have gone undiscovered in the apartment for three or four days.
Barahona previously made the news in 2013 after school officials revealed she was axed from teaching high school science classes after entering a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. The teacher/student relationship started out as a friendship when the teen was 15, but became sexual after his 17th birthday. A report by the Special Commissioner of Investigation revealed Barahona and her teen paramour were sleeping together unprotected five times a week, as the teacher had told her student “not to worry” about contraceptives. The pair ultimately went their separate ways before their son Miguel was born.
Some other strange details about this case include reports that Barahona described Miguel as a girl in Facebook photos from 2013 and even dressed her son in pink. Apparently, that practice had continued as a neighbor said she still would see him dressed in girl’s clothing.
“It is odd to see the little boy sometimes dressed up like a girl. Also the little boy runs up and down the hall and I never see her saying ‘Be quiet’ or ‘Come back here’ or anything,” Barahona’s neighbor from across the hall, Javier Yudelka said.
“He’s just allowed to run around and do what he wants.”
Another friend told the Post Barahona also had an 8-year-old daughter who didn’t live with her, but that she “really loved her children.” The friend asked not to be named, but said Barahona was taking classes and teaching at John Jay College before she died, revealing the two took a final exam together at John Jay Thursday, Dec. 22nd for a forensic science class.
“She even messaged me later in the day, about the exam,” the friend said.
“We were all worried about the exam. She was just such a great person and extremely nice. I just don’t understand how this happened.”
The holidays are such a tough time for many people. Our prayers go out to Barahona and Miguel’s friends and family.
