Son, 26, of a retired NYC Supreme Court Justice accused of beating his mother to death with a piece of furniture before jumping naked to her death from the 16th floor of their Upper East Side apartment
- Douglas Solomon, 26, is said to have beaten his mother Diane Gallagher, 65, to death with a piece of furniture on Tuesday morning
- Police found her body with multiple trauma to the head at the family’s apartment at 180 E. 79th Street on the Upper East Side
- Solomon’s body was found naked in the yard as witnesses said they heard the 26-year-old scream after he allegedly jumped from the 16th floor
- Police are investigating the case as a murder-suicide and said there was no history of domestic violence or mental health problems in the family
- Solomon is the son of retired NYC Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon, who oversaw many high-profile cases over his 30-year career
The son of a retired New York City supreme court The judge allegedly beat his mother to death with a piece of furniture before jumping naked to her death from their upscale Upper East Side apartment.
NYPD officials said Douglas Solomon, 26, son of retired judge Charles Solomon, 75, assaulted his mother Diane Gallagher, 65, at her home at 180 E. 79th Street Tuesday morning New York Post reported.
Witnesses told police they heard Douglas scream on the way down from the 16th floor of their 20-story apartment building before he died.
Police, who found the young man’s naked body in the building’s courtyard, believe Solomon jumped to his death and are investigating the case as a murder-suicide.
NYPD believes Douglas Solomon, 26, (left) beat his mother Diane Gallagher, 65, (right) to death before jumping naked to her death Tuesday morning
Solomon and Gallagher (left) are pictured with Charles Solomon (left), a retired NYC Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon who oversaw many high-profile cases over his 30-year career
Solomon’s body was found in the courtyard of the apartment complex (highlighted)
NYPD officials said they first received a call about the incident around 10:30 a.m. and found Gallagher dead in the family’s 16th-floor apartment with multiple trauma to the head.
Neighbors told the Post they heard people arguing at the family home before hearing Douglas fall to his death.
“I heard a few voices. I thought it was construction workers arguing,” a resident told the Post. “I thought it was just people angry at each other.”
Other neighbors mourned the loss of Gallagher, who they described as an “amazing person”.
“A great mother, a great wife, a great everything and really a great friend,” a neighbor who visited Martine told the Post.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and that there was no history of domestic violence or mental health problems in the family.
Gallagher (right) was found with multiple head injuries at the family’s home at 180 E. 79th Street on the Upper East Side
Neighbors mourned the loss of Gallagher (above), whom they described as an “amazing person”.
Charles, who last worked for the Manhattan Attorney’s Office after retiring in 2017 after a battle with cancer, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The judge, who served on the city’s Superior Court for three decades, oversaw the 2001 nightclub shooting trial for Sean Combs, better known as P-Diddy.
He was also the judge who heard the infamous Lorna Santiago murder case in 2010 and returned a guilty verdict against Michael Lenahan, who strangled Santiago to death and lay in bed with her body for two days.
Charles’ last high-profile trial came in 2017, when he approved a plea deal for one of the Russian prostitutes allegedly hired by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whom the disgraced governor accused of blackmailing him.
