A mother was reportedly seen throwing her two screaming children off the top of a Boston parking garage, before jumping off herself. All three died (Pictures: NBC Boston)

A mother hurled two screaming children to their deaths from an eighth floor parking garage, then jumped off and killed herself, it is claimed.

Erin Pascal, 40, threw her four year-old daughter Allison, and 15 month-old son Andrew from the top of the parking garage near Ruggles Station close to Boston’s Northeastern University on Christmas Day.

Prosecutors are continuing to investigate a possible motive.

They said a 911 call may have been made shortly before the double murder-suicide, but declined to reveal who made it, or its contents.


A black Acura SUV with its doors open and two children’s seats inside was seen being examined on the top floor of the parking lot.

Erin Pascal has been named as the mother who threw her two young children to their deaths off a parking lot before killing herself (Picture: Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)

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Prosecutor Rachael Rollins told WBUR: ‘All things are indicating (death by suicide).



‘Our investigation is showing that the two children fell first, and then the parent fell after.’

‘If it had happened on any day it would be a tragedy, but it happened on Christmas day which, whether you celebrate that holiday or not, this is a sacred season in many cultures.’

Andre Serizawa claims that his friends saw the horrific incident, and wrote on Facebook: ‘According to what (his friend) heard from a college student who saw what happened, the kids were crying and screaming before and after she threw them off the top of the garage followed by the impact of them hidding (sic) the ground before she jumped herself.’

Items of clothing including a black buckle shoe and a pair of broken glasses were seen on the ground close to where the bodies were found.

Police officers are seen examining a car believed to belong to the woman, with the wide shot giving an idea of how far she and the children fell (Picture: NBC Boston)

Both Northeastern University Police Department and the Boston Police Department have yet to confirm further details on the circumstances.

Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said the woman and children were rushed to hospital, ‘where they were pronounced non-viable.’

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He said the woman may have been related to her victims, but said officers were continuing to work on identifying the three bodies.

NBC Boston reported that the top two floors of the garage have been closed while police investigate, with the university now planning on closing off the top floor indefinitely.

Eight EMTs, two paramedics, two supervisors and a special operations team member attended the tragedy, with those workers now set to be offered counselling and assistance.

The top two floors of the parking garage have been closed off while police investigate (Picture: NBC Boston)

Former Boston Police Chief Daniel Linskey told Boston25News: ‘It’s going to be in their minds for their careers and that is something the police department has to work very hard to do a critical debrief with these officers to make sure the images they saw, the thoughts they have, are dealt with.

‘And they are dealt with tomorrow, next week, next month, and even seven, 12-15 years from now.

‘Those are the type of incidents to go into a first responders mind and build up and they build up to the point where police are leading professions right now in suicide.’

For 24/7 confidential emotional support, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 in the US. For the UK contact Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see http://www.samaritans.org for details