Brooklyn Woman Beat Her 4-Year-Old Child To Death With Stick: Cops

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — A 26-year-old Brownsville woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly beating her 4-year-old son to death with a stick, cops said. Zarah Coombs was charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, among other charges, police said.

According to a police source, the young boy named Zamair Coombs was found face down in a plastic storage bin filled with water that had been repurposed as a bath tub. Zarah Coombs was accused of striking him with a stick several times around his body, causing bruising and contusions, the police source said. She then left the child unattended in the container for "an extended period of time," the police source added. It was unclear how long that meant.

The medical examiner will determine the cause of the child's death.

The Department of Investigations opened a formal investigation on Thursday into the death of Zamair Coombs, a spokesperson from the DOI told Patch. The DOI has also requested authorization from the New York Office of Family and Children's Services to obtain records on Zarah Coombs, the spokesperson confirmed. Any records the Office of Family and Children's Services shares with the DOI must remain confidential except in the case of a court order or a fatality or annual report released by the DOI, according to the New York Social Services Law.

Police responded to a 911 call at the basement apartment of 121 Riverdale Ave. on Wednesday at around 9 p.m. and found 4-year-old Zamair Coombs "unconscious and unresponsive" with bruising on his body, the NYPD said. Emergency responders rushed the child to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. To get updates on this story and other crimes around Brownsville and East New York, sign up for the Patch email newsletter for news alerts.

Coombs is set to be arraigned tonight or tomorrow, a representative from the Brooklyn DA's office said.

This is a developing story, refresh the page for updates.

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