A mom from Brooklyn, New York, is accused of assaulting her two kids over a misplaced tablet computer. After being assaulted by her mom for nearly two hours, the younger one succumbed to her wounds and perished.
Shemene Cato, 48, was furious because her two daughters had misplaced a tablet. Cato purposefully dropped the bed on Shalom Guifarro, 9, who was hiding from her mom under the bed. She abandoned her as the kid died of internal bleeding. The incident occurred at their Crown Heights residence on Lincoln Place in Brooklyn. Cato is accused of torturing Shalom and her 13-year-old sister with an extension cable and a broom for hours before killing her own child.
As per the prosecution, officers came to the apartment and found Shalom only after the older girl snuck out and contacted 911. As described in the complaint, a doctor at the medical examiner’s office decided that Shalom suffered multiple blunt force effect injuries about the head and body, resulting in internal bleeding, which eventually caused Shalom’s death, Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney David Ingle said at the mom’s arraignment on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said Shalom yelled to her mom, “Mommy, help me!” after being hurt. According to the sibling, Shalom’s mom “spanked” her and put her in time out following a temper tantrum before she was discovered unconscious, as per authorities.
Cato was charged with second-degree murder and ordered jailed without bail by Judge Simiyon Haniff. He also issued a protective order for the older girl. Cato works for the city’s Human Resources Administration, and her union appears to be covering her legal expenses.
As per Bart Hubbuch, proprietor of the pub near the flat, Cato frequently yelled at the youngsters. Their mom cursed them out and wouldn’t allow them to play with the other children on the street, he explained.
Rev. Pedro Torres, who runs No Longer Bound Ministries near the apartment, claimed he saw them almost every day and never observed anything out of the ordinary. He stated, she was consistent. She’d have a chat, and they’d converse. He said, everyone claims she was verbally aggressive to the youngster. That never occurred to him. He always pictured her with the kid, as a mother, caring for her children.
He also mentioned Shalom, she didn’t have a care in the world. Always cheerful and amusing. He recalls giving her the doll at the time. She recognised him the next day and hugged him. She was incredibly grateful.
Another neighbour, Jason Rahimzadeh, stated, “Screaming and fighting could be heard coming from the flat. He heard at least ten loud disputes where people were yelling at the top of their voices. The family remained silent. Everybody in the building is so polite and quiet, he said, but they all understood that the house was dangerous.
As per records, cops had earlier attended the house 14 times for domestic violence reports, the majority of which were Cato reporting about alleged harassment by her ex-partner. According to officials, city child services had not prior been engaged with the family.
