Posted on June 22, 2011

Mom Charged with Murder of 5-Year-Old Son Beat Child to Death Because He Broke the TV: Prosecutors

Rocco Parascandola and Kevin Deutsch, NY Daily News, June 20, 2011

A Bronx mom said she beat her 5-year-old son to death because he broke the television while playing Nintendo Wii, prosecutors said Monday.

Kim Crawford, 21, smacked Jamar Johnson in his back and stomach on June 13 “harder than I’ve ever hit him,” she told cops.

Crawford watched him vomit and complain of agonizing pain for five days as his internal injuries got worse. She never took him to the hospital because she feared getting arrested, she told investigators.

“I was worried they’d see the bruises and I’d get in trouble,” she told cops.

{snip}

After hours of questioning, she finally admitted becoming enraged at Jamar when he told her he broke the television, prosecutors said.

“I hit Jamar twice in the back and twice in the stomach,” she told cops.

{snip}

In a separate case, a Bronx man was charged Monday with killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter, police said. Edgar Algarin, 26, apparently exploded in anger because Enidaliz Ortiz-Encarnacion wouldn’t eat, sources said. He told police he punched the girl in the back, sources said.

The city Medical Examiner’s office said the girl was choked and beaten in the upper torso.

{snip}

Sources said the girl’s mother was away on business and that Algarin may have been angry that he was forced to babysit.