Police have charged a New Jersey mother who allegedly lied and said her son was suffering from cancer in order to deceive friends and loved ones out of thousands of dollars.

Investigators say Susan Stillwagon, 35, stole as much as $3,500 through cupcake and bracelet fundraisers by claiming that her 9-year-old son had a type of lymphoma and needed medical care.

"You tell people your son has cancer and they want to help," said Police Lieutenant Michael Probasco in Pennsauken, N.J.

Police got a tip earlier this week that Stillwagon’s story about her son wasn’t adding up. Investigators subpoenaed medical records and discovered she had been lying.

Probasco says Stillwagon even convinced her son he was sick to carry out the scheme.

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The suspect’s mother, who did not tell NBC10.com her name, says that her daughter is being treated at a local hospital.

“I will just tell you my daughter is sick and something snapped in her head. That’s why she is where she is so that we can find out what’s wrong with her,” said Stillwagon’s mother. “I am very concerned for my daughter, very concerned. We will get through this but people have to leave us alone or we will never get through it.”

New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Families checked on Stillwagon's four children Tuesday.

“They came to make sure the house is livable, food in fridge and that the kids aren't being mistreated and they didn’t find any of that,” said Lieutenant Michael Probasco.

Tamara Disalvo, a neighbor, says her thoughts are with the little boy.

“Just as a friend and neighbor you do feel deceived by this. He must be pretty confused because of he was deceived this way by his mother, that’s got to feel awful,” said Disalvo.

Stillwagon was charged with theft by deception and using her own son to commit a crime.

NEW YORK -- A woman clutching her baby son in her arms plunged eight stories out of an apartment window to her death in an apparent suicide on Wednesday, but the baby survived, police said.

Cynthia Wachenheim was found on the street with her son, 10-month-old Keston, near her arms. A police officer who responded took the baby to a hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

Police discovered a seven-page suicide note under a bed in the apartment Wachenheim shared with her husband. In the note, the 45-year-old Wachenheim said she recognized what she was about to do was "evil" but she was concerned about how her child was developing, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

It was unclear whether the baby, who neighbors said was an only child, had any mental or physical problems.

A window to the West Harlem apartment was wide open, and there were no signs of struggle inside, police said. There were no safety bars on the apartment's windows. Surveillance footage showed Wachenheim's husband leaving the apartment about an hour before her plunge from the window with the baby.

'I heard a scream'
Area resident Steven Dominguez, 18, was walking to a grocery store with his mother, Adelina Dominguez, when he saw the woman fall. He said the baby bounced off her body, breaking some of the impact of the fall, before hitting the ground nearby.

"I heard a scream like a yell," Dominguez said. "When I got closer, I saw the baby crying."

He said the baby was face-down.

"I was shocked," he said. "I couldn't believe it."

Dominguez said his mother went to pick up the baby, but an emergency response person told her to stand back.

The apartment is in a relatively new building facing Jackie Robinson Park. A crowd of onlookers had gathered nearby Wednesday afternoon, awaiting the medical examiner's office, which would determine the official cause of the woman's death.

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Resident Yaa Dwamena, 32, said she's lived in the building for several years and as long as she's been there she's seen Wachenheim.

"She was very nice, very friendly, very warm," Dwamena said.

She said that the last time she saw Wachenheim was last week.

"I wouldn't have thought anything was wrong with her," she said. "They were a happy-looking family. I wouldn't think anything like this would happen."

Wachenheim went to law school at Columbia University, and her father was a state police spokesman before his death in 2011. She worked in state Supreme Court in Manhattan doing legal research for judges, court officials said.

"We are all deeply saddened about this tragic incident," state courts spokesman David Bookstaver said. "Our thoughts are with Ms. Wachenheim's family."

The four-year-old boy of a sheriff’s deputy in northern Michigan accidentally shot and killed himself with a handgun at the family’s home over the weekend, state police said Monday.

Authorities believe Michael Easter was playing with the firearm when he shot himself one time on Saturday in Liberty Township, said First Lt. Michael Krumm of the state police. Police have sent evidence to a forensic lab for analysis but don’t think there was any criminal intent at play.

“At this point there is nothing that’s leading us to believe that this is anything more than a tragic accident,” Krumm said.

The handgun was believed to be registered to the boy’s father, Mark Easter, Krumm said, adding that he had yet to receive confirmation. But it was not Easter’s service weapon, he said.

Easter was on his way to work when his wife called and told him what happened, Jackson County Sheriff Steve Rand told mlive.com. The boy was pronounced dead at a local medical center.

“This just serves as a reminder that we need to be vigilant when it comes to keeping our children safe,” Rand said.

Cammy Rose, the cousin of Easter’s wife, told NBC affiliate wilx.com: “Mark's a good guy. I know this wasn't intentional."

"My heart is broken for my cousin," she said. "He was definitely taken from this world too early."

A week ago, a 4-year-old Houston boy fatally shot himself with his father's stolen handgun while his dad slept. 

A Florida woman was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for doing nothing to intervene when her husband fatally stabbed one of their sons and wounded another.

Deanna Beauchamp De Jesus, 38, of Port Orange, pleaded guilty in her aggravated manslaughter case as part of an agreement struck with the Broward State Attorney’s Office. Her prison sentence will be followed by five years of probation.

Prosecutors faulted De Jesus for failing to act as a protector and intervene earlier this year, when her husband, William De Jesus, stabbed 9-year-old Josiah to death and tried to kill their other son, now 8, inside an RV in Deerfield Beach.

William De Jesus killed himself along with Josiah and Ovila Plante, 76, one of the owners of the RV that the killer randomly chose.

Broward Assistant State Attorney Gregg Rossman said he thinks De Jesus’ sentence was a “fair and just result.”

“I don't think life in prison for her part of the crime, quite honestly, was appropriate,” Rossman said in an interview after Friday’s hearing.

De Jesus' defense lawyer, Terrence Moons, said his client understood the terms of the sentencing agreement.

“She's OK, all things considered,” Moons said. “And she can move on with her life.”

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Watch NBCMiami.com report: Split verdict in De Jesus trial:

NEW FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Tyler Giuliano had no trouble with the law. The teenager loved flying small planes as a Civil Air Patrol cadet and seemed happy as he played an online game with friends Wednesday night.

But hours later, authorities say, Tyler was outside wearing a black ski mask and wielding a knife when he was shot by his father, who thought he was a prowler.

No immediate charges were brought against Jeffrey Giuliano, a popular fifth-grade teacher, in the slaying of 15-year-old Tyler, who was gunned down in his aunt's driveway next door to his own home in New Fairfield around 1 a.m. Thursday.

"It's something out of a Hollywood script," said John Hodge, the first selectman, or top elected official, in the town of nearly 14,000 people about 50 miles from New York City. He said he couldn't recall another killing in his eight years on the job.

State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said the boy had never been in trouble with the law, and some of those who knew him described him as a good kid with an easygoing personality. Investigators and acquaintances said they were at a loss to explain what he was doing outside dressed all in black and carrying a weapon.

"Certainly, that is the major question we are trying to answer at this point," Vance said.

State police said the shooting happened after Jeffrey Giuliano got a call from his sister next door saying that someone might be trying to break into her home in their neighborhood of attractive colonial-style houses. Giuliano grabbed a handgun and went outside to investigate, troopers said.

Police: Connecticut man kills suspected burglar, then learns it's his teenage son

He confronted someone in a ski mask and opened fire when the person came at him with something shiny in his hand, police said.

When police officers arrived, Tyler was lying dead in the driveway with a knife in his hand, and his father, in a T-shirt and shorts, was sitting on the grass. Detectives informed the elder Giuliano several hours later that he had shot his son, Vance said.

"All in all, it's a tragedy," Vance said.

Police were investigating whether the father's gun was registered.

Classmates baffled
No one answered the door at Giuliano's home or his sister's.

Tyler was a student at New Fairfield High School and a Civil Air Patrol cadet. Some of those who knew him said he enjoyed spending time with family and flying gliders and small planes. He was adopted by Giuliano and his wife a few years ago, friends said.

One classmate said many students were baffled by what happened.

"I just thought it was so weird when I heard because I knew Tyler, not very well, but he was just a sweet person and he always made everyone laugh. I met him in the chorus room, actually, and he just wasn't the type to do what happened," said Erin Pallas, 16. "So it didn't make sense to us. It doesn't make sense to the student body."

Brett Rasile, a 14-year-old friend, said he and Tyler were playing an online game called Minecraft while talking and laughing together via Skype until about 10 p.m. Wednesday, when Tyler said he had to go to bed. Brett said Tyler wasn't in any trouble that he knew of, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Same old Tyler. He was perfectly fine," Brett said. "He didn't really leave any evidence, any hints towards what he would do."

Alicia Roy, New Fairfield superintendent of schools, said the elder Giuliano grew up in the town, holds summer music and zoology camps for his students and plays guitar in a local rock band that raises money for charity. He is affectionately known as "Mr. G" around Meeting House Hill School.

"He was the teacher you requested in the fifth grade. He was a great teacher. All the kids loved him," said Rosemary Rasile, Brett's mother.

Brian Wyckoff, 17, said Mr. G "was always walking around with a smile on his face. He always says hi to everyone."

The high school stayed open late to provide grief counseling for students and parents.

"The community is deeply saddened, and our hearts go out to all the family members," Roy said.