A 9-year-old girl was found dead Sunday afternoon at her Brooklyn home with cuts and bruises on her head and bite marks on her back, police said.
The girl was identified by police as Shalom Guifarro, who lived at Lincoln Place in the Crown Heights neighborhood.
Her mother, who was questioned by police, is Shamaine Cato, 48. A police officer said that Ms. Cato had a history of domestic complaints, although Shalom did not appear to be involved.
Neighbors described Ms. Cato as an overprotective mother who seemed troubled. They said she was known throughout the neighborhood for verbally abusing her daughter and two dogs, a pit bull and a smaller dog.
“She was crazy,” said Rey Santiago, 28, a neighbor who said he saw the mother scream and push her daughter into a laundromat.
The New York Police Department said that Ms. Cato had called 911 to report that her daughter was in distress.
Bart Hubbuch, owner of the Memphis Seoul restaurant, which is located on the ground floor of the low brick building where Ms. Cato lives, said that when he arrived early Sunday afternoon, his employees reported a stench they thought was a broken toilet upstairs. .
Minutes after the building inspector responded to their call, they saw him emerge from the building, his face ashen.
Numerous emergency services arrived moments later, just after 1 p.m., and Shalom was pronounced dead at the scene. Also at home with Shalom and her mother was Mrs. Cato, who is 13.
“They said it was a horrific crime scene,” Hubbuch said, adding that he watched police officers who seemed to be wiping tears away.
“This is so sad — that was a beautiful little girl,” said Flora Wilson, 51, a neighborhood watchman who was friends with Ms. Cato and her family.
Two neighbors said that Mrs. Cato was known by the nickname Serge. A neighbor, Barry Todman, 51, said she worked on Atlantic Avenue to help city residents apply for Social Security benefits. She often wore sweatshirts with the green, yellow and black Jamaican flag.
“I don’t know what the hell happened,” said Mr. Todman, adding that when he went to Ms. Cato for help in the summer of 2020, she had seemed friendly and professional.
But Mr. Hubbuch and others said Ms. Cato in the area was notorious for yelling at her daughters. He added that he wouldn’t see the girls playing outside or with friends.
“She used to yell so loudly at her kids that it would startle you,” he said, adding that he had never seen her do any physical violence. “It was like, why are you yelling at your kids like that?”
The woman’s boyfriend worked as a delivery boy during the pandemic, Hubbuch said, but hadn’t been there for several months. He added that police officers spoke to the friend when he arrived on the scene Sunday afternoon and that he ran away in distress.
A man who runs a pantry nearby said Mrs. Cato came regularly for food aid. He described her as brusque and as strict with her children and animals. “But I never expected such a thing,” said the man, who gave only his first name Rob.
Three detectives were able to enter and exit Ms. Cato’s building late Sunday night. A police car stopped in front of the door.
Ashley Southall reporting contributed.
