The family of a Queens mom charged with killing her 15-month-old son is still struggling to understand how the doting mom could have carried out such a monstrous crime.
Nicole Boodhai, 28, seemed happily engaged to the baby’s dad and fussed over little Charlie Ramraykha — even showing him off to relatives in Guyana in September — and chatted on the phone about buying gifts for youngsters in the family just days earlier, the father’s cousin, Trish Emmandranauth, told The Post.
On Monday, Boodhai was found with her wrists slashed beside the slain body of her little boy, cops said.
“It’s hit hard, especially for my three kids,” Emmendranauth said. “My kids have so many questions right now. They’re with their father and they’re texting me, they’re reading the news, and they’re young. They’re seven, eight and 10,. So, they have so many questions that I don’t know how to answer.”
She said Charlie’s father, Vishnudat Ramraykha, is devastated by his son’s death.
“That was his life,” the cousin said. “Charlie was his life right there.”
Cops responding to Ramraykha’s home on 157th Street about 1:30 p.m. on Monday found Charlie unresponsive and Boodhai with her wrists slashed, according to police.
Both were rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where the boy was pronounced dead. The mom was soon charged in his killing.
The Post revealed this week that Boodhai called Ramraykha and admitted what she had done before police arrived at the house, according to law enforcement sources.
According to sources, police responded to two domestic incident calls involving the couple, one in May at Ramraykha’s home and another in September of last year at Boodhai’s address.
Details of what prompted the calls — or who placed it — were not available.
However, Emmendranauth said Charlie was the joy of the family, “nothing but smiles and playfulness,” and said her cousin and Boodhai seemed happy when they all hung out together.
Just before Christmas, Boodhai chatted about what presents to buy Emmendranauth’s kids.
“I spoke to Nicole right before the holidays,” she said. “She would always call me and be like, ‘Hey, what size are your kids’ clothes?’ or ‘What are your kids interested in for Christmas?’ She was at the mall and she called me, and I told her, ‘My kids have everything.
“They don’t need anything. But they love going to the movies. So she’s like, ‘OK, I’ll look for something in that area, maybe theme park tickets or something.’ We spoke for about 30 minutes that day.”
She said her cousin and Boodhai had been together about five years, and got engaged in 2023.
“He did a beautiful proposal to her,” she said. “They both do a lot for each other. They did a really big baby shower as well for Charlie, and that was last year.
“I just want to know what triggered her to do this,” she added. “She’s the type of mother who would be very concerned if he’s walking or he just stumbled over a little bit. You know, she’s that mother that would pick him up and cradle him right away.”
