Death of baby found in East River ruled a homicide months later: Police

NEW YORK CITY -- (WPIX) -— The death of a baby found in the East River last year has been ruled a homicide, police announced Friday.

Tourists spotted 7-month-old Mason Saldana's body floating in the East River near the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge on Aug. 5, 2018.

A tourist and first responders worked to save the baby, but officials said he was already dead.

Saldana's father James Currie, 37, was arrested and charged with concealment of a human corpse after arriving in New York City from Thailand, where officials said he fled after concealing his dead child's body.

Currie was said to have taken Saldana from his mother's residence. Video evidence shows the baby was alive when arriving at his father's Bronx residence shortly thereafter. A day later, Currie was then seen leaving his home with a backpack and later walking with it toward the East River, officials said.