A 1-year-old Bronx girl, who was allegedly beaten by her mother’s boyfriend and had to undergo surgery to remove a part of her skull because of her injuries, has passed away over a week after the incident.
Per the New York Post, the deceased minor, identified as Imani Mitchell, was initially left in a critical condition after the suspect, Jerome Thomas, beat her on August 28. She was ultimately taken to the Harlem Hospital.
Authorities said that Thomas was babysitting Mitchell in a Woodstock apartment on the day of the incident, alleging that the 19-year-old suspect “struck the child twice on the side of the head with a ‘heavy hand.’” Mitchell’s mother had reportedly left her daughter in the care of Thomas at the time of the incident.
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The criminal complaint stated that Mitchell had to go under the knife to take out a part of her skull after she sustained “extensive subdural hemorrhaging on the right side of her head resulting in swelling and intracranial pressure causing brain herniation.”
Medical efforts to save Mitchell proved futile as she succumbed to her injuries on Friday. Authorities subsequently ruled her death a homicide.
Prior to the deceased minor’s death, Thomas was facing charges of felony assault, reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child in the wake of his August 29 arrest over the incident, the New York Post reported.
Thomas has been denied bail, and authorities said that there could be an upgrade of the charges brought against him.
A neighbor who spoke with the news outlet stated that the couple and the deceased minor had recently moved to the apartment.
“I spent a little time with the mother, and I guess the boyfriend one night, just because they were new to the area, and we were just showing them where some of the stores are and different things like that,” the neighbor, Nicole LaCroix, said.
“Being helpful, as a neighbor, because I’m a little older than the young lady. I held the baby, you know, because we spent a little time with each other. She was playing with my phone – she was an active one year old.”
LaCroix also stated that the couple frequently had arguments inside their apartment. “They fight every night. [I’ve heard] them argue every night since they moved here … ‘F–k you, b–ch.’ And ‘Get the f–k out,’” she said. “Several times she put his clothes out, but they’d be back together the same day.”
Thomas’ next court appearance is set for September 18.
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