NEW YORK (Reuters) – A man has been arrested and charged with murdering his former New York City high school teacher and the son he had with her, authorities said on Wednesday, five years after a scandal over their relationship made headlines.
Isaac Infante, 23, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with two counts of first and second degree murder in the deaths of Felicia Barahona, 36, and their 4-year-old boy Miguel Barahona.
Police responding to an emergency call at a Manhattan apartment on Monday found Barahona on the living room floor with an electrical cord round her neck and her son unresponsive in a bathtub, authorities said in a statement.
The motive behind the murders remains unclear, police said. Infante, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has not yet been scheduled for arraignment, and it was not clear if he had an attorney.
Infante and Barahona’s sexual relationship began in 2011 when Barahona was a 32-year-old science teacher at Dewitt Clinton High School in New York City’s Bronx borough.
Infante was still a minor and Barahona was fired from the school when their relationship became public. She later gave birth to Miguel.
They had planned to marry, but split up after arguing about Infante’s alleged underage drinking and other issues, according to a memorandum written in 2012 by New York City school officials who investigated the relationship.
According to The New York Times, Infante subsequently paid child support and sometimes visited Barahona’s home, but otherwise kept a distance.