Investigation Reveals 6-Year-Old Harlem Boy Killed This Week was Abused for Months

HARLEM, NY — New evidence suggests that a 6-Year-Old Harlem boy who died after being rushed to the hospital with bruises on his body and head was repeatedly abused by his mother and her boyfriend. Zymere Perkins was pronounced dead Monday at Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital, police told Patch.

The boy's mother told police that her live-in boyfriend Rysheim Smith hit the boy with his hands and with a wooden broom stick the day of his death, according to a criminal complaint. The mother also told police that Smith had hung the boy from thee back of their apartments bathroom door by his shirt and had seen his body "go limp," according to the complaint.

Smith had become upset when he found out the boy had defecated in the apartment's living room, according to the criminal complaint.

After Smith left the apartment, Geraldine Perkins took her unconscious son down from the door and put him on his bed. When she returned to wake him and the child would not respond, she rushed him to the hospital, according to the criminal complaint.

An autopsy has revealed that Perkins had suffered linear bruises on his torso, bruises and finger marks on his neck, and other injuries to his head and body, according to a criminal complaint against his mother Geraldine Perkins. Zymere Perkins was also suffering from previously broken ribs, according to the autopsy.

Geraldine Perkins told officials that the boy was being abused for months by Smith and that she had even hit the boy on occasion, according to the criminal complaint. The abusive behavior started before Perkins moved into Smith's apartment on the 600 block of West 135th Street, according to the complaint. During the investigation law enforcement found the apartment had no electricity, had rotting food in the fridge and was infested with roaches, officials said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday on WNYC that Perkins' death is "not acceptable," and he will personally look into how to better protect children.

"A lot of different people were aware of this case, tried hard to get to the bottom of it but we did not succeed in saving this child, which is unacceptable to me," de Blasio said. "So more changes will be made going forward."

Geraldine Perkins and Smith were arraigned on Wednesday. A judge has set a bail of $50,000 for both Perkins and Smith, according to court records. Neither have posted bail.

Photo: Patch