metro police
Xin Liu
Friday, Sept. 4, 2020 | 8:50 p.m.
About a month after her son’s birth, the woman began to browse the internet and shared stories about mothers killing their children, expressing that she wanted to kill her baby and then herself. Once, she told a friend that she’d tried to smother her little boy, according to accounts provided to Metro Police, but that she “woke up” and stopped when she heard him cry.
On Monday, those apparent warning signs turned into reality when Xin Liu dropped her 3-month-old boy from the second floor onto the tile below, killing him, police allege.
Liu, 35, was booked Tuesday on a count of murder at the Clark County Detention Center. She’s since been released on high-level house arrest after posting a $20,000 bail, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.
Officers responded about 2:40 p.m. to the two-story house in the 3300 block of Turtle Vista Circle, in a cul-de-sac near Desert Inn and Fort Apache roads. The baby died at University Medical Center.
A Metro arrest report paints a picture of a woman who was eager to have a baby and was even happy for about a month after he was born. But it outlines how quickly she descended into depression, speaking about not wanting to hurt him.
Liu was a stay-at-home mom while her husband worked.
It wasn’t long after the boy was born that her husband noticed her hands shake, and she would go into a “daze” when the boy cried, according to the report. So, he hired a babysitter and took Liu in for medical evaluation.
Liu would often visit a doctor, who prescribed her medications, police said.
At some point after the babysitter was hired, things appeared to improve, police said. But Liu spoke about nightmares and visions that would disturb her. She didn’t eat or sleep.
The babysitter had just placed the baby in his crib on Monday and left to wash his clothes in the bathroom.
It was then that police allege Liu grabbed the boy and dropped him from a stairwell. The child died from fractures to the head, police said.
Liu is next in court Monday.
There are resources available for those contemplating suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800-273-8255.
