An 18-month-old foster care child who sustained a severe beating two weeks ago, allegedly from a caretaker's boyfriend, died last week from his injuries.
A spokeswoman for Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center confirmed that Kymell Oram was pronounced dead on March 28, four days before he was taken off life support.
Oram died from "blunt force" injuries of the torso with rib fractures, internal organ bruising and lacerations of the abdomen, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said.
The death was ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy. Kysheen Oliver, 19, is charged in the attack with second degree assault, but the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, which is prosecuting the case, said additional charges were possible.
It was not clear whether he had a lawyer.
Oliver was reportedly living with Oram's foster mother, Teyunna Cummings, when he was left alone with the baby on the morning of March 17. Cummings left her Cypress Hills apartment to drop her two older daughters off at school and discovered Oram was badly beaten when she returned and called 911.
Cummings, who had already adopted one of her daughters, was cleared to adopt Oram and was in the process of finalizing the adoption in the courts. She has not been charged.
Edwin Gould Services, the agency that placed Kymell Oram with Cummings, and is responsible for vetting its foster care parents, declined to comment and referred all requests to the city Administration for Children's Services.
“ACS continues to investigate this tragic incident, the agency involved, and all aspects of the care of this little boy,” spokeswoman Elysia Murphy said in a statement.
Oram's death occurred the same week that ACS released a report that examined how it handles cases of at-risk children. The report came in response to the death of Marchella Brett-Pierce, a malnourished 4-year-old who died while in the custody of her drug-addicted mother. Two ACS workers, including a caseworker accused of falsifying documents, are charged with criminally negligent homicide in Pierce's death.
While Pierce was directly under ACS services, Oram was under the care of a foster care agency, which subcontracts with ACS.
