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Medical Examiner Says Zymere Perkins Died Of 'Fatal Child Abuse Syndrome'
By
Emma Whitford
Published Oct 21, 2016
Modified Oct 21, 2016
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Oct 21, 2016
Modified Oct 21, 2016
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Six-year-old Zymere Perkins, who died last month after his mother delivered him to Saint Luke's Hospital with bruising to his head and body, suffered from fatal child abuse syndrome, according to the Medical Examiner's report released this week. His death has been ruled a homicide.
"This cause of death means that the child had evidence of acute and chronic abuse and neglect that ultimately led to his death," said Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the city Medical Examiner.
Zymere's mother Geraldine Perkins, 26, and Perkins's boyfriend Rysheim Smith, 42, were both arrested last month in connection with Zymere's death, and preliminarily charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child.
Perkins, who has five child abuse allegations on her record (three substantiated), reportedly told police Smith beat her son with a broomstick for defecating in an ice bucket the day he died. Smith than allegedly hung Zymere, limp, by his T-shirt from a bathroom door hook. After Smith left the apartment, Perkins said she laid the child on a bed for several hours, thinking he was asleep.
According to the NYPD, officers responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious 6-year-old boy at 606 West 135 Street in Harlem just before 2:30 p.m. on September 27th. When they arrived at the address, police were informed that Perkins had already transported her son to Saint Luke's Hospital.
Perkins told DNAInfo in an interview at Rikers Island that while she was afraid of her boyfriend, and found it hard to leave him, Smith had not beaten Zymere before the September incident. Investigators have said that Smith abused Zymere for over a year, without intervention from Perkins.
In the aftermath of Zymere's death, Mayor de Blasio announced a series of Administration for Children's Services reforms. Among them, more audits to hold staff accountable to their casework, and collaboration with the Department of Education to ensure ACS follows up with children who are frequently absent from school (Zymere apparently wasn't enrolled).
"We know the system failed. That's what we have to get at here," de Blasio said, adding, "Anyone who works for the city of New York who is found to be negligent in this case will face serious consequences."
Deputy Mayor Herminia Palacio also announced that five ACS staff had been placed on administrative duty while Zymere's case is investigated. Staff member names were not released, but the Daily News reported that the Department of Investigation had probed a caseworker involved in Zymere's case, 48-year-old Nitza Sutton, for allegedly falsifying records. According to the tabloid Sutton was promoted a few months ago. Four other high-ranking ACS officials tasked with overseeing Zymere's case were suspended for 30 days without pay.
The mayor's office deferred comment on the cause-of-death ruling to ACS.
"This case is a tragedy and the review of the circumstances that led to this incident is ongoing," the city agency stated. "The City continues to examine this case, and is implementing targeted reforms.”
The DOI released a report in May faulting ACS for lax investigations and incomplete record keeping. According to DOI, about 16% of children whom ACS identified as abuse victims during the investigation period were victimized again within the same year. ACS countered at the time that a recent investment of $100 million in the child welfare system was reducing caseloads and funding new training for caseworkers.
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fatal child abuse syndrome
HOMICIDE
Zymere Perkins
Emma Whitford
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