A New York man is behind bars after police say he fatally beat a boy to death over the weekend.
My Plainview reports that the incident happened in Harlem, at an apartment at the St. Nicholas Houses. Responding officers arrived at the residence on Saturday and found Ayden Wolfe, 10, unresponsive, with cuts, bruises, and puncture wounds on his body. He also reportedly showed signs of possible sexual abuse.
He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities arrested Ryan Cato, 34, on Sunday and charged him with murder and child endangerment. Cato claimed innocence according to the New York Post and said he heard banging on the door at 2 a.m. and when he opened the door, he found the boy slumped over and unresponsive.
“These walls are thin enough to where you can hear a child being beaten. You think it’s not your business, it is your business,” tenant association head Tyrone Ball said. “It takes a village to raise a child, but the village failed.”
NBC New York that the boy’s mother was in custody Sunday night, being questioned by police. A police spokesperson said the mother has not been charged at this time.
“When the mother would speak to him, he would clench and become quiet. She would be a little loud and using some profanity with him. I never seen a man or a father with them. They’ve been here almost 3½ years,” neighbor Judynell Groce told the Post.
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[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
