A girl who was reportedly found covered in bite marks has cried out for help after her mother knocked her off a bed.
Prosecutors say nine-year-old Shalom Guifarro shouted “mom help me” as her mother, Shemene Cato, 48, allegedly assaulted her.
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Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney David Ingle said Cato brutally attacked Shalom and her 13-year-old sister for two hours on Sunday.
Prosecutors said the eldest daughter escaped from the Crown Heights apartment. The cops then arrived at the house and found the lifeless body of the little girl.
Shalom suffered multiple blunt impact injuries that resulted in internal bleeding, according to Ingle.
Cato was arraigned for second degree murder and is being held without bond.
A protective order has also been issued for the 13-year-old by Judge Simon Haniff.
“Miss Cato, I noticed your head was down, but I want you to make sure you heard and understood,” Hannif told Cato, who broke into tears in court.
Prosecutors said in a complaint filed Tuesday that Cato allegedly beat her daughters over a missing tablet computer.
During the incident, Shalom ran and hid under the bed.
The complaint alleges that Cato lifted the bed and dropped it on Shalom’s head, ignoring her pleas for help as she bled internally.
Shalom’s 13-year-old sister told cops their mother threw a tantrum.
She and her mother then went into the kitchen to eat and then found Shalom unconscious.
Investigators are currently processing three items for forensic clues, a branch found in Shalom’s bedroom, a “curved piece of furniture” and an extension cord discovered in the hallway of the apartment, the Daily News reported.
Shalom’s back was badly bruised and the left side of his head and his left ear were swollen.
The child’s joints were also bruised, investigators added.
Employees of the Memphis Seoul restaurant called owner Bart Hubbuch on Sunday to report a bad smell, “almost like sewage dripping into the restaurant from the apartment,” the New York Post reported.
Hubbuch told the Post that the children were “very well behaved” but called the mother a “nightmare”, alleging she was always yelling at the children.
Police also removed two dogs in crates from the home.
Neighbors said the family had a small dog and another larger “pit bull” type dog.
Sources told the Daily News that the mother had previously been the subject of domestic complaints, most of which related to allegations of harassment by her ex, records show.
The city’s children’s services had not been involved with the family in the past, officials said.
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