A 10-year-old New York boy who dreamed of being a YouTube gamer was allegedly beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend.
On Saturday, 10-year-old Ayden Wolfe was found unresponsive in his family's Harlem apartment. He was bloodied, bruised and suffering from multiple internal injuries, PIX11 reports.
Ayden was transported to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. According to police, doctors found Ayden with injuries all over his body that were both old and new, WLNY reports. It was determined he died of fatal child abuse syndrome.
Ayden's mother's boyfriend, Ryan Cato, 34, was arrested on charges of murder and endangering the welfare of a child. Cato was the person who called 911 and allegedly told police he found the boy unconscious.
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According to a GoFundMe page launched on his family's behalf, Ayden dreamed of being a gamer. The "intelligent, tech savvy, fun, loving boy" was his mother's "pride and joy."
"He was such a joy to have around and loved his family," the GoFundMe organizer writes. "Unfortunately, his life was tragically cut short. Ayden was loved immensely by family and his mother…Our hearts are heavy as we prepare for Ayden's home-going."
According to Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, police were called to the boy's apartment building the day before his death, when someone called 911 to report domestic abuse.
"The 911 caller could not provide an apartment number, but stated there was banging and screaming heard in the hallway and that a child was present," Shea said, AMNY reports.
Shea said the two responding officers walked through the hallways of Ayden's apartment building to check for sounds of physical dispute or struggle, but heard nothing.
During their 12 minutes at the location, the officers "used their department smartphones to read the narrative of the 911 call and confirmed that no apartment number had been given," Shea said.
Before leaving, they twice tried to dial back the number related to the 911 call, but were unable to reach the original caller.
Shea has since ordered a probe in the NYPD's response on March 5. It's unclear whether Cato has an attorney to comment on his behalf.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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