A 6-year-old Harlem boy covered in bruises died after being rushed to the hospital by his mother, police said Tuesday.
The child’s mother, Geraldine Perkins, had been the subject of five child abuse allegations stretching back to 2010, sources said.
But she told detectives her muscle-bound boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, beat little Zymere Perkins with a broken broomstick for defecating in an ice bucket, sources said.
Cops got a call from Zymere’s apartment on W. 135th St. near Broadway about 2:20 p.m. Monday saying the boy was unconscious, officials said.
Before cops arrived, Geraldine Perkins carried Zymere’s limp body down out of the house, where she flagged down a neighbor but was too devastated to speak, sources said.
Chauncey Brown, 52, was standing outside the building when Perkins emerged with the boy in her arms.
“I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. I knew something was wrong,” Brown said. “His body, his arms was just dangling.”
“She got the corner and she dropped to her knees and she said, ‘Oh no,'” Brown added. “A young lady asked if she was OK and she said no.”
Perkins hailed a livery cab and went to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital, where Zymere died at 2:41 p.m., officials said. He had old and new bruises on his head and all over his body, sources said.
Perkins told cops she and her boyfriend smelled feces in the apartment about four hours earlier and found that Zymere had defecated in an ice bucket.
Smith, who has 18 prior arrests, erupted in fury and began screaming at Perkins and the boy, she told police. He then grabbed the boy’s shirt and began beating him first with his hands and then with a broken broomstick, she told investigators, according to sources.
Smith took him to the bathroom and held him in the shower, according to Perkins’ account. By then, the child was unresponsive.
Smith stormed out of the apartment, only to return 20 minutes later to tell Perkins she was responsible for what happened and would have to take the blame.
After Perkins took the boy to the hospital, Smith walked up to the apartment building, claiming to be unaware of what happened.
“He came from around the corner and he had no clue what was going on,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘Yo, your girl just took (Zymere) to the hospital and I think he passed away.'”
Smith went up to the apartment, later emerging with NYPD detectives, Brown said. Both Smith and Perkins were being questioned by cops Tuesday afternoon.
Smith told cops that Perkins was the one who blew her stack after Zymere defecated in the ice bucket. He claimed she scolded the boy and then took him to the bathroom to clean him up.
Smith claimed he left and went to the Fortune Society facility on Riverside Drive, where ex-cons can get assistance and food, sources said.
He said he got two tuna fish sandwiches and came home to find Perkins on their bed doing CPR on Zymere, sources said.
He claimed he took over and tried to revive the boy himself before Perkins took Zymere to the hospital, sources said.
Detectives are trying to match DNA on Zymere’s body to both Perkins and Smith, sources said.
In mid-April, a school social worker reported to cops that Zymere may have been the subject of child abuse after she saw bruises on his legs, sources said. City child welfare officials and the Manhattan Child Abuse Squad investigated Perkins and cleared her.
But previously, Perkins was the subject of confirmed child maltreatment allegations on three occasions – in February of 2016 and in August and June of 2015. There was also an unconfirmed allegation against Perkins in June 2015.
The child wasn’t even registered in school, sources said.
“It’s just a tragedy — that’s all I can say,” said Nicole Cucci, 33, a lifelong resident of the building.
“If either of them had something to do with this, they should rot in hell.”
Neighbors said Zymere’s apartment didn’t have electricity and that an extension cord ran from their apartment into the hallway to steal power for their unit.
The city medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine how little Zymere died.
