Judge’s son throws himself naked from the 16th floor after killing his mother

• The son of a retired New York Supreme Court judge throws himself naked from the 16th floor.
• First he murdered his mother.
• Neighbors said they heard a loud thud.

SCARY SCENE. The son of a retired New York Supreme Court judge threw himself naked from the 16th floor after bludgeoning his mother to death. Authorities have many questions and are still investigating what happened.

On Tuesday, July 19, Doug Solomon, the 26-year-old son of former Judge Charles Solomon, was found dead in the courtyard of the elegant condominium on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York where the family had an apartment.

Judge’s son throws himself naked from the 16th floor after killing his mother

It was a brutal scene. Around 10:30 in the morning, the local police first found the bloodied body of the young man who had thrown himself naked from the 16th floor of the condominium. They later entered the apartment and found his 65-year-old mother, Diane Gallagher, dead in a bedroom.

According to police, in a fit of rage, Solomon apparently hit his mother with a piece of furniture, which caused a head injury that led to her death. Then the young man jumped out of the condo’s window. For now, authorities are treating the situation as a murder-suicide.

What happened?

Neighbors said they heard screaming. “It was the loudest thud. At first I thought it was an air conditioning unit,” a woman who did not want to identify herself told the New York Post. “I looked down and he was right below my window … he was butt naked,” she added.

According to the police, other witnesses said they heard screams, but it is not clear if there was an argument inside the building. “I heard a lot of voices. I thought they were construction workers arguing,» a resident who lives a few floors below the family’s apartment told the outlet. «I thought they were just people mad at each other.»

No warning signs

The case has caused a stir among the neighbors and has surprised the authorities since there was no history of mental health problems or domestic violence in the family. They continue to investigate what could have led to the deaths of the mother and son.

For now, the family’s neighbors have paid tribute to Gallagher, whom they say was «a great mother and a great wife.» A woman identified as Martine told the New York Post that the the young man’s mother was a «brilliant and eloquent» woman.

Who is the family?

Doug Solomon was the son of Charles Solomon, a retired New York Supreme Court justice who stepped down in 2017 after three decades of service. Solomon led trials in high-profile cases, including that of Michael Lenahan in 2010, a man who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for strangling Lorna Santiago and then sleeping with her corpse for two days and the nightclub shooting of rapper Sean “P Diddy” Combs.

If you, someone in your family or someone you know has had suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741. They will offer you the help you need.