Imani Mitchell, a 1-year-old baby from the Bronx, passed away one week after her mother’s boyfriend allegedly bashed in her skull.
Jerome Thomas was watching the baby on the evening of Aug. 28 when he allegedly “struck the child twice on the side of the head,” according to a criminal complaint, per a report from the New York Post.
The baby was then rushed to Harlem Hospital in critical condition, the news outlet said.
The criminal complaint added that Imani had “extensive subdural hemorrhaging on the right side of her head resulting in swelling and intracranial pressure causing brain herniation.”
She required surgery to remove part of her skull.
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains extremely graphic descriptions of fatal child abuse.
A 1-year-old Bronx girl has tragically died, a week after her mother’s boyfriend allegedly beat her so severely that doctors had to remove a portion of her skull.
Imani Mitchell, 1, died in the… pic.twitter.com/VJCyIWnYe2
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) September 9, 2025
Though Imani was placed on a ventilator, doctors were unable to save her life, and she passed away at the hospital on Sept. 5.
Thomas, who is 19 years old, was arrested on Aug. 29 and charged with felony assault, reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child.
He has been held without bail on Rikers Island and will likely see the charges against him upgraded.
The case is being investigated as a homicide, according to a report from News 12 Long Island.
The outlet said that the baby was punched multiple times in the face.
Nicole LaCroix, a neighbor of Thomas and Imani’s mother, Le’Nesha Mitchell, said in comments to the New York Post that the couple had recently moved into their building.
“I spent a little time with the mother, and I guess the boyfriend one night, just because they were new to the area, and we were just showing them where some of the stores are and different things like that,” LaCroix recalled.
“Being helpful, as a neighbor, because I’m a little older than the young lady,” she added.
“I held the baby, you know, because we spent a little time with each other. She was playing with my phone — she was an active one year old.”
LaCroix noted that they would sometimes hear arguments from the apartment.
“They fight every night,” LaCroix said, adding that the arguments occurred “every night since they moved here.”
“F**k you, b**ch.’ And ‘Get the f**k out,’” LaCroix said of the arguments.
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