Gigi Jordan, a millionaire pharmaceutical executive convicted of manslaughter in the death of her eight-year-old autistic son, was found dead inside her Brooklyn home.
Sources say her body was found around 12:30 a.m. Friday at her apartment in Stuyvesant Heights.
The cause of death has not yet been determined, but authorities are investigating the 62-year-old’s death as a potential suicide.
“The news came just hours after USÂ Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an order that was expected to send Jordan back to prison,” Daily Mail reports.
Millionaire pharma exec Gigi Jordan – who killed 8-year-old son – found dead inside NYC home https://t.co/Yrvs4LHmVh
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) January 2, 2023
Gigi Jordan, millionaire NYC pharma exec convicted of killing son, found dead https://t.co/9kuCzu0bIB pic.twitter.com/no7KCUjtzk
— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) January 1, 2023
More details from Daily Mail:
Jordan was accused of administering a fatal dose of pills to her autistic son, Jude Mirra, in February 2010 at the high-end Peninsula Hotel on Fifth Avenue. She then made an unsuccessful attempt to take her own life.
During the trial, Jordan’s defense team argued that she killed the boy while in a state of extreme emotional disturbance, fearing that he would be murdered by her ex-husband.
Jordan was acquitted of the top murder charge, but was found guilty of manslaughter in 2014.
Jordan was sentenced in 2015 to 18 years in prison, but her manslaughter conviction was overturned in 2020 due to a procedural error.
Jordan admitted to intentionally killing the child in an attempt to save him from what she believed was ongoing abuse, according to Law & Crime.
Her suspicions of abuse stemmed from messages she thought her son typed out on a facilitated communication device.
Jordan said her reaction was a “mercy killing” of her son.
From Law & Crime:
A jury accepted Jordan’s claim of extreme emotional disturbance and convicted her of manslaughter rather than murder, as Jordan had originally been charged. Following the conviction, Jordan appealed citing procedural irregularities that occurred during the trial.
Specifically, the presiding judge closed the courtroom for an off-the-record discussion at the request of a prosecutor and over the objection of Jordan’s defense team. The prosecutor used the discussion to raise concerns about a media coverage of the trial and asked the judge to remind the jury to avoid looking at any internet content related to the case.
The judge did so, and also warned Jordan herself about improper statements she made online about the case. Finally, the judge sealed — and shortly thereafter, unsealed — the record of the discussion.
Jordan then appealed and argued that the procedural glitch had deprived her of her constitutional right to speedy and public trial.
At the lower state court levels, Jordan’s appeal was unsuccessful, as the closed proceeding was found not to have affected the substance of the case before the jury. However, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York disagreed, granted federal habeas relief to Jordan, and ordered that Jordan be released from state custody on bail pending the conclusion of the appeal.
After Jordan filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sotomayor granted bail to her on an emergency basis, pending further responses by the parties.
On Thursday evening, Sotomayor issued an order reversing the previous one from December 20th to remain free on bail while her appeal progressed.
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