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Brooklyn mom gets 15 years in fatal beating of 9-year-old daughter
Cato — who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October — beat the child and her 13-year-old sister with an electrical cord and broom for two hours over a missing tablet, prosecutors say.
nypost.com
Brooklyn mom gets 15 years in fatal beating of 9-year-old daughter
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Social Links for Priscilla DeGregory
Published Dec. 15, 2023, 4:13 p.m. ET
A Brooklyn woman who fatally beat her 9-year-old daughter — ignoring the little girl’s pleas of “Mommy, help me” — was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday.Shemene Cato, 50, was handed down the sentence by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo for killing daughter Shalom Guifarro inside their Crown Heights apartment on May 15, 2022, the District Attorney’s office announced.
Cato — who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October — beat Giufarro and her 13-year-old sister with an electrical cord and a broom for two hours over a missing tablet, prosecutors say.
Guifarro tried to escape the relentless attack by hiding under a bed but Cato pursued the child, lifting the bed and then dropping it on the girl’s head, after one of the bed’s legs broke off, the DA’s office said.
The mother ignored her daughter’s pleas for help as she bled internally, prosecutors alleged.
Guifarro died from blunt force injuries to her head, face and body, the Chief Medical Examiner later determined. The elder daughter survived but suffered lacerations and contusions to her lower body.
3 Shemene Cato was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatally beating her 9-year-old daughter. Gregory P. Mango
Cato was charged with second-degree murder and faced up to life imprisonment if convicted. But she pleaded to first-degree manslaughter on Oct. 26.
She has been behind bars on Rikers Island since her arrest on May 16, according to city jail records.
“The life of an innocent young girl was tragically and horrifically cut short at the hands of her own mother,” Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement Friday.
“Hopefully today’s sentence allows for some closure for all who were deeply affected by this heart-wrenching case.”
3 Shemene pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October. Gregory P. Mango
3 The mother was charged with second-degree murder and faced up to life in prison if convicted.
Prior to the horrific incident, cops had visited Cato’s apartment 14 times for domestic abuse reports, most of which involved Cato reporting her ex for harassment. Still, there had been no prior involvement by city child services.
Cato worked for the city Human Resources Administration and her legal bills had been covered by her union.
Her criminal defense attorney didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.