Harlem boy, 6, covered in bruises dies; parents arrested

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - A Harlem man with 18 prior arrests and his girlfriend, who has been the subject of five child abuse allegations, were arrested by the NYPD in the death of their son Zymere Perkins, 6.

Rysheim Smith, 42, and Geraldine Perkins, 26, lived with the boy on West 135th Street.

On Monday, at about 2:25 p.m, Perkins rushed her son to St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Perkins reportedly told police after her arrest on Tuesday that Smith became enraged after Zymere relieved himself in a bucket. He allegedly beat the boy with his hands and then with a broken broomstick, according to the NY Daily News.

Smith and Perkins were charged with acting in a manner injurious to child child. Police said the investigation was ongoing.

Doctors found the boy had multiple bruises on his body and head, said police.

Last school year, a social worker at Public School 192 alerted police to bruises she had noticed on Zymere's legs, reported the DN. Child welfare agents and the NYPD Manhattan child abuse squad investigated Perkins and cleared her.

Zymere was reportedly not registered in school this year.