New York Post

MOM DEATH LEAP

- By JAMIE SCHRAM, LORENA MONGELLI and NATASHA VELEZ jschram@nypost.com

A new Manhattan mom suffering from postpartum depression jumped to her death from a sixthfloor window early Monday, despite a desperate attempt by her Columbia University gradstuden­t husband to stop her, police sources told The Post.

Jiyunu Kim, 33, who gave birth just four months ago, broke free from her husband’s grasp and jumped out the window of their apartment at 414 W. 120th St. in Morningsid­e Heights at about 5 a.m., the sources said.

She landed in a small courtyard, with the window screen falling nearby.

“I woke up at about 5 a.m. and heard a crash. Then I heard a door slamming and someone taking off running. I heard screaming in Mandarin or Cantonese,” said a resident who refused to provide her name.

A police source said Kim lived in the apartment with her husband, Donghan Kim, 27, who attends Columbia’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Investigat­ors were interviewi­ng the distraught man to learn more about his wife’s medical history, although a lawenforce­ment source it’s believed she suffered form of depression known to affect women after giving birth.

A neighbor Erin Lobb, 26, described a frantic scene after Jiyunu Kim jumped.

“There was a man screaming, and a woman screaming. Part of the screaming was coming from outside. We thought it was a domesticab­use situation,” Lobb said, noting that he had never seen the couple fighting.

Another resident, who was looking after the couple’s 4monthold baby girl, described Kim as a loving mom.

“She was a very caring mother. She cared deeply about her family, her husband and her daughter,” the 25yearold neighbor said, adding, “I just spoke to [the husband] briefly on the phone. Obviously, it’s a tragedy.”

The resident also said he never knew the couple to bicker.

“Never that I saw, never that I experience­d. They lived right above us,” he said.

“They were both very new to the building. My wife and her were close friends because they both have babies the same age. I know she just loved this little girl. They both did.”

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