A New York City mother who brutally beat her nine-year-old daughter to death with an electrical cord and a broom during an argument over a missing tablet has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Shemene Cato, 50, was charged with killing her daughter, Shalom Guifarro, at the family's Crown Heights apartment in May 2022.
She was pictured hanging her head while wearing a hair covering and a brown jumpsuit during her sentencing in court on Friday.
Prosecutors said Cato dropped a bed on her daughter while hiding from her under it after a brutal beating. Unable to get up, Shalom was unresponsive and died crying, “Mommy, help me.” Her older sister managed to sneak away to call 911 two hours after her sister's death.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the 15-year prison sentence Friday and expressed hope that the sentence would bring closure to those affected.
Shemene Cato, 50, was accused of beating her daughter, Shalom Guifarro, to death in May 2022 at the family's Crown Heights apartment.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the 15-year prison sentence on Friday and expressed hope that the punishment would bring closure to those affected
Unable to get up, Shalom was unresponsive and died crying, “Mommy, help me.” Her older sister called the police two hours after her death
“An innocent young girl's life was tragically and horrifyingly cut short at the hands of her own mother,” Gonzalez said in court.
'Hopefully today's verdict provides some closure for all those deeply affected by this heartbreaking case.'
Cato allegedly waited two hours to call 911 after her daughter died on May 15.
Police arrived on the scene in Crown Heights just after 1 p.m. and attempted to resuscitate the girl, but to no avail.
The assault lasted about two hours, after which Shalom tried to escape the defendant by crawling under a bed.
Her mother then lifted her bed and tried to pull Shalom out from under it when it collapsed on top of her, causing internal bleeding.
Her death was ruled a homicide, and NYPD officials said she had been strangled and knocked down multiple times, with bite marks on her back.
Cato was arrested and charged with murder, assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon. The suspect pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October.
She was pictured in court wearing a head covering and a brown jumpsuit, hanging her head down as the sentencing began.
Cato was arrested and charged with murder, assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon. The suspect pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October
Unable to get up, Shalom was unresponsive and died crying, “Mommy, help me.” Her older sister called the police two hours after her death
Cato allegedly waited two hours to call 911 after her daughter died on May 15. Police arrived on the scene in Crown Heights just after 1 p.m. and attempted to revive the girl, but to no avail.
She was pictured being escorted out of Brooklyn's 77th precinct and into a police car by NYPD officers in May.
The mother wore a parker coat with a hat and a face mask covering her nose and mouth.
The city medical examiner's office said Shalom suffered multiple traumatic injuries to her head, face and body.
The cause of death was blunt force trauma.
The defendant's 13-year-old daughter was taken to Brooklyn Hospital and treated for cuts and bruises across her lower body.
Cato (pictured accompanied by NYPD officers) has been arrested and charged with murder, assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon
Police arrived on the scene in Crown Heights just after 1 p.m. and attempted to revive Cato's daughter. Pictured: Cato, 48, leaving the 77th Precinct Station in Brooklyn
Shamaine Cato, 48, reportedly waited two hours to call 911 after her daughter Shalom Guifarro died Sunday. In the photo: Cato is escorted by the police on Monday evening
Bart Hubbuch, owner of Memphis Seoul, the ground-floor restaurant on Lincoln Place in the same building, told The Times at the time of the killing that even the police seemed to wipe away tears because the scene was so eerie.
“They said it was a gruesome crime scene,” Hubbuch told the newspaper.
Neighbors said they often heard the mother yelling at the girls and at a pit bull mix dog they kept in the apartment.
“She was crazy,” neighbor Rey Santiago told the Times. He said he saw the mother pushing her children and yelling.
Hubbuch told the New York Post that the daughters were “very well-behaved,” but Cato is a different story.
“However, the mother is a nightmare,” the restaurant owner told the newspaper. 'She shouted at them. She had a dog and was very thin.'
Inside the fourth-floor apartment of Shamaine Cato, 48, where her nine-year-old daughter was found dead with bite marks on her back
Detectives are investigating the death of nine-year-old Shalom Guifarro, who was found in her family's home in Crown Heights with head trauma and bite marks on her back.
Employees at the Memphis Seoul reported a foul odor similar to sewage coming from the apartment where the nine-year-old girl was found dead
Bart Hubbuch, the owner of Memphis Seoul restaurant, said Shamaine Cato was a “nightmare” but her daughters were “very well-mannered”
The scene where a nine-year-old girl was found dead was so eerie that you could see the police blinking back tears
The city's child welfare agency said at the time that state law prohibits the release of information about individual cases.
“We are investigating this matter with the NYPD and we have taken action to ensure the safety of the other child in this home,” said Christopher Rucas, spokesman for the Administration for Children's Services.
“This is so sad — that was a beautiful little girl,” Flora Wilson, a 51-year-old Crown Heights resident, told the newspaper. She said she was friends with the woman, who neighbors said worked as a counselor, helping people sign up for social services.