Father of infant found dead in East River detained in Thailand, suspected of killing baby in Bronx apartment

The father of an infant found dead in the East River has been taken into custody in Thailand, police officials said Wednesday.

James Currie, 37, of the Bronx was detained in Bangkok as he tried to get into the country after flying there several days ago.

Currie, who works as a station cleaner for the MTA, is expected to be brought back to the U.S. in about a week. He will be charged initially with concealment of a human corpse.

Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea told reporters that investigators obtained security video which showed him walking into his Co-op City building about 12:50 p.m. Saturday holding the baby, named Mason. On Sunday, he was seen on video holding a backpack converted into a papoose.

Little Mason was under a blanket. Shea said he is believed to have already been dead. Currie is suspected of killing the child in his apartment.

“There will not be a good ending to this story,” Shea said. “This is clearly something that no parent should have to live through.”

Mason’s mother lives separately. She turned over the child to him Saturday and then contacted the police to say Currie never returned him to her after the visit as agreed.

Oklahoma tourist Monte Campbell jumped into the water near the Brooklyn Bridge and tried to save the child. The boy, whose body showed no signs of trauma, was declared dead at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Lower Manhattan.

Mason’s cause of death has yet to be determined.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the mother of this child during this difficult time,” Shea added.