Badara Kone (Delaware State Police).
A dying 10-year-old girl in Delaware was helped to bed by her brothers after their father beat her so badly with a belt that she fell and fatally hit her head on a piece of furniture, according to police.
“Following the assault, her siblings in the home assisted the victim to her bedroom,” a Delaware State Police press release says about victim Fatima Kone, who authorities say was murdered by her 49-year-old father Badara Kone at their home in Smyrna.
“She was later found deceased, but 9-1-1 was not notified for an extended period of time,” the DSP release says.
Fatima was found dead in her bedroom shortly after 2 a.m. on May 28, leading officers to be called to the family”s home on Oakwynn Circle. A preliminary investigation revealed that on May 27, Kone “struck Fatima numerous times with a leather belt, as self-described discipline,” according to the DSP release.
“While being struck, the child fell to the ground and is believed to have hit her head on a piece of furniture,” the release says. A medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Fatima classified her death as a homicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries.
Cops say Fatima’s two brothers, ages 15 and 11, were the ones who helped bring her to bed after Kone’s alleged fatal beating. “Detectives obtained evidence supporting that the children had been continuously physically abused,” the DSP release says about Fatima and her siblings.
The boys were taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary wellness checks, and that’s when the alleged abuse was uncovered.
Kone was arrested that same day for the “abuse of the male children” and Fatima’s death, according to DSP officials. He was charged with two felony counts of continuous child abuse, eight counts of fourth-degree child abuse, and murder.
Kone remained in custody Tuesday on a $180,000 cash bond.
