“A doctor at the medical examiner’s office determined that Shalom suffered multiple blunt force impact injures about the head and body, resulting in internal bleeding which ultimately caused the death of Shalom,” Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney David Ingle said.
The girl was attempting to escape the attack and crawled under the bed, Pix 11 reports. When Cato tried to pull her out from under the bed, one of the legs broke and the bed fell on the child’s head, prosecutors claim. The girl suffered multiple blunt force injuries to her head, face, and body and died of internal bleeding.
Cato was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge and ordered held without bail by Judge Simiyon Haniff, who also issued an order of protection for the older girl.
“Miss Cato, I noticed your head has been down but I want you to make sure you heard and understand,” Haniff told Cato, who burst into tears in court.
Officials said city child services had not been involved with the family in the past.
Nonetheless, neighbors told The Post that the family could often be heard arguing.
“I heard a lot of screaming and fighting from the apartment,” neighbor Jason Rahimzadeh said Monday. “I heard loud arguments at least 10 times, where they were screaming at the top of their lungs. The family kept to themselves.
“Everyone in the building is so nice and calm, but we all knew that apartment was trouble.”
Bart Hubbuch, who owns the bar near the apartment, said Cato consistently yells at the kids.
“Their mother frequently cussed them out and wouldn’t let them play with the other kids on the block,” said Hubbuch.
Cato works for the city Human Resources Administration, with her union picking up the tab for the lawyer’s legal fees, according to sources.
Cops had visited the apartment 14 times before for domestic violence reports — most involving Cato complaining about alleged harassment by her ex, records show.
Sad.