Socialite Charged With Murder Had Obsessed Over Dead Son's Autism
By STEPHANIE BARISH wpix.com

4:08 p.m. EST, February 26, 2010
NEW YORK (WPIX)—
A Manhattan socialite who is accused of murdering her 8-year-old autistic son was allegedly obsessed with the boy's mental disorder.

According to friends, Gigi Jordan quit her job as a high ranking pharmaceutical company executive and abandoned her social life to devote all her time to her son, Jude Michael Mirra.

Jordan, a trained nurse, reportedly went to great lengths to help the boy, who, for most of his life, would often scream and bang his head on the floor, while being unable to speak.

Many people close to Jordan described her as a loving, overprotective mother who likely snapped under pressure. Friends say she tried for years to help Jude, however ultimately grew defeated over her inability to make him better and gave up.

Police say Jordan, 49, brought Jude to the Peninsula Hotel on Feb. 3, where she paid cash for two nights in a $2,300-a-night suite. She reportedly posted a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, she double-locked it and jammed it with a chair.

Prosecutors charge Jordan gave her son a fatal overdose of prescription drugs and took the pills herself.

Two days later, police were called to the scene after a relative found Jordan on the hotel's bathroom floor "babbling incoherently." Jude was found dead in his pajamas, face up on the bed.

Jordan was arraigned from her Queens hospital via video link on Feb. 16. on charges of second-degree murder. She pleaded not guilty.

Her attorney, Gerald Shargel, said he plans to launch a psychiatric defense but did not disclose additional information.