THE sister of a nine-year-old girl who was brutally attacked by her mother has revealed why the child was beaten to death and covered in bite marks. Prosecutors said little Shalom Guifarro, nine, cried “mommy help me” as her mother, Shemene Cato, 48, allegedly carried out a brutal attack on her. Police arrived at the family’s […]
THE sister of a nine-year-old girl who was brutally attacked by her mother has revealed why the child was beaten to death and covered in bite marks.
Prosecutors said little Shalom Guifarro, nine, cried “mommy help me” as her mother, Shemene Cato, 48, allegedly carried out a brutal attack on her.
Police arrived at the family’s Brooklyn apartment on Sunday morning to find the child dead with trauma to her head and bite marks on her back.
A medical examiner said the Shalom died from a blunt-force impact that caused internal bleeding.
Following their mother’s arrest, Shalom’s 13-year-old sister reportedly told investigators about the beating Cato carried out.
The sister said their mother “spanked” them and put Shalom on time-out following a temper tantrum over a missing tablet.
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Prosecutors said little Shalom hid under her bed from her enraged mother, who spent hours striking the girls with an extension cord and a broom.
Cato allegedly found Shalom “lifted up the bed, attempting to pull the child out from underneath and dropped the bed,” prosecutors claim.
As reported in the complaint, in dropping the bed, “the leg fell off the frame and caused the bed to fall on Shalom’s head.”
After the malicious mother’s actions, the child was still, officials said.
“Shalom could not stand up, was non-responsive, and kept saying, ‘Mommy, help me,’” prosecutors claimed in court.
Officials claim Cato left her lifeless daughter, and Shalom’s older sister managed to sneak away and call 911.
Investigators processed three items for forensic clues, a branch found in Shalom’s bedroom, a “curved piece” of furniture, and an extension cord discovered in the apartment hallway, the NY Daily News reported.
Shalom’s back was severely bruised, and the left side of her head and left ear were swollen from what investigators believe was caused by strikes from the extension cord, sources told the outlet.
The child’s knuckles were also bruised, cops added.
An emotionless Cato, wearing pajama bottoms and pink flip flops, remained silent during her court appearance on Tuesday with her head hung low throughout the proceedings, the Daily News reported.
Employees at the Memphis Seoul restaurant called owner Bart Hubbuch on Sunday to report a bad smell, “almost like sewage dripping into the restaurant from the family’s apartment upstairs,” the New York Post reported.
Hubbuch called the landlord, and the super went to check the apartment before the police arrived.
He recalled how the two kids were “very well mannered.”
“The mom was a nightmare, though. She was always screaming at them. She had this little dog and was really skinny,” Hubbuch told the Post.
Police also removed two dogs in crates from the home. Neighbors said the family had a small dog and another larger “pitbull-type” dog.
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Authorities charged Shemene with murder, manslaughter, assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Sources told the Daily News that the mother had been the subject of prior domestic complaints, but it’s unclear if it involved Shalom.
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