NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The case of a Bronx baby who was allegedly punched by her mother’s boyfriend was upgraded to a homicide Monday after the child died at a hospital, police said.
Imani Mitchell, 1, was found bruised and barely breathing by responding officers at her Union Avenue apartment in the South Bronx at about 4:45 p.m. on Aug. 28, police said.
The child had been left in the care of mother LeNesha Mitchell's boyfriend, 19-year-old Jerome Thomas, while she went to the grocery store. Thomas initially admitted to hitting the child twice on the side of the head, police said.
“She was the light, she changed me. She made me feel more confident about myself as a first-time mother. I was learning from her. She was happy, smart, funny," Mitchell told the New York Daily News. "Before I walked out that door to go to the supermarket, I picked her up. She reached her hands to me and gave me a kiss on my cheek. Then I came back to all of that."
Thomas was booked on two counts of assault and endangering the welfare of a child the day after Imani entered the hospital.
After several surgeries and a week in the hospital, Imani passed away at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem on Friday. Police said that the incident has now been deemed a homicide.
Thomas was living in the home and had been dating Imani’s mother for four or five months, officials said, but was not her father.
He is expected back in court on Friday, where his charges will likely be upgraded. Thomas remains held with no bail.
Neighbors told 1010 WINS that they weren’t aware of any issues in the home.