Zarah Coombs a Brooklyn mother has confessed to beating her four year old son after leaving the boy for dead in a water filled plastic storage bin.
Zarah Coombs a 26 year old Brownsville, Brooklyn mother faces murder and manslaughter charges after confessing on Thursday to beating her four year old son to death.
The charges come after the woman’s toddler son, Zamair Coombs was found face down foaming at the mouth inside a plastic storage unit filled with water at the family apartment at Riverdale Avenue.
According to cops, the mom admitted to beating the boy unconscious with a broomstick Wednesday before sticking the unresponsive child inside the water-filled bin.
Pause, stutter, wonder, how, why?
Coombs told investigators she’d been stressed out after having given recent birth to a newborn baby, and finding herself struggling with parenting duties.
A report via the nypost cited sources saying Combs claiming she suffered from postpartum depression and that she was struggling with caring for her three other young children aged 9, 1, and 1-month-old.
Dnainfo reports the woman’s arrest came after cops responded to a 911 call circa 9 p.m. Wednesday evening where upon cops found Zamair in the basement.
Police sources told of the battered child incurring abrasions on his neck and bruises on various parts of his body, the result of being savagely beaten with a broomstrick and left in a water filled storage bin.
Not clear is whether the boy was already dead, or close to death and when exactly emergency services were called.
According to sources, notice of the boy’s beating came after the suspect’s boyfriend returned home after having gone out only to return and find the boy unconscious inside a storage bin in the basement.
According to the boyfriend, Coombs told him that she had left the boy unattended when she went to care for a second child in a different part of the apartment. It is then according to the boyfriend that the mother told him that Zamair had slipped and injured himself.
Not clear is how long the boy had been left unattended in the water filled storage bin and why Zarah Combs made no effort to call for help, effectively leaving the boy for dead.
Upon the boyfriend calling emergency services, the unresponsive child was taken to Brookdale University Hospital, where he died shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday.
Yet what perhaps makes the Zamair’s gruesome death even more disturbing is the fact that the boy’s mother had been under investigation by the NYC Administration of Child Services. For reasons yet to be made clear, officials had decided against removing the woman’s children from the home.
In a report via the nydailynews the suspect’s brother, Michael Thomas, 53, said he did not know the details surrounding the ACS visits, while condemning his sister’s actions.
‘Family or not she deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent,’ said Thomas. ‘People argue, they fight, but this is unacceptable, intolerable for you to kill a 4-year-old. A sister or not, she has to be held accountable.’
Added the brother via cbsnylocal: ‘If I had witnessed anything, I definitely would have called the cops, relative, family, or not,’
‘I’m not going to sit back and be apathetic about any young child being abused by anyone. So if I would have noticed or had a clue of anything going on, we wouldn’t be here now.’
The brother described Wednesday evening’s scene as he arrived at the family home after having been summonsed by his daughter who lives next door to the suspect.
Told the brother: ‘They were pumping on his chest,’
‘When I saw them inserting the breathing tube, you know that’s bad. He was foaming at the mouth.’
Upon her confession, Zarah Coombs along with being booked on murder charges was charged with manslaughter, acting in a manner injurious to a child and criminal possession of a weapon.
The official cause of death remains undetermined, with the city medical examiner’s office planned to begin its investigation Thursday.
Police sources said the boyfriend was told by Coombs that Zamair had taken a spill after stepping on some loose towels in the bathroom. The pre-schooler told the mother was climbing out of the tub when he fell, with Combs telling the boyfriend she immediately called 911. Or did she?
According to the suspect’s brother, Zamair’s mother and her 26-year-old boyfriend fought frequently, with the uncle contending that may have led to the couple neglecting the children. That said, the relative said he never saw any physical abuse.
Of note, Zarah has two children with the boyfriend and two other children with two other men. Both previous fathers are in jail.
‘We have a lovely family,‘ said Thomas. ‘We come from a family of 15 and nobody abused any of us or any kids. So everybody is very upset because we love kids.’
The boy’s grandfather told a different tale, detailing a family rift. His daughter and the boyfriend refused to let him see young Zamair, the man said.
Told the grandfather via the nydailynews: ‘I wanted to have a bond with the boy … and they wanted to break that bond,’
‘I would bring him presents, they would take the present and go inside. They wouldn’t let me see him.’
When asked if his daughter and her husband were good parents, the grandfather replied, ‘I don’t know,’
Adding: ‘I don’t want to get into that.’
In the aftermath of Zamair’s death, a spokesperson for the Administration of Children’s Services issued a statement, saying: ‘We are deeply saddened by the death of Zamair, and commend the New York City Police Department on quickly making an arrest in this case. As we conduct our investigation along with the NYPD, we await the findings from the Medical Examiner’s Office.’
Which is to wonder does Child Services have blood on its hand and could one 4 year old boy’s death have been prevented….
