Man convicted in 2021 beating death of 10-year-old Harlem boy
A New York City man was convicted in the 2021 beating death of his partner's 10-year-old son, Manhattan prosecutors announced Thursday.
Ryan Cato was found guilty of murder in the second degree by a jury that had been deliberating for about a day, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said. His trial in a Manhattan court had started in late January.
Bragg said Cato "tortured" Ayden Wolfe for months before beating him to death in a Harlem apartment.
"The evidence shown to the jury proved the utterly depraved nature of Ayden's murder, including extensive internal and external injuries that no one, let alone a child, should suffer," he said in a statement.
Jessica Horani, Cato's public defender, said her client is disappointed in the verdict and will appeal.
"The death of Ayden Wolfe is a tragedy, but a depraved indifference murder conviction for Mr. Cato is not justice," she said in a statement.
Wolfe was found lying unconscious and unresponsive in the living room on March 6, 2021, after police said Cato called 911. The boy later died at Harlem Hospital.
At the time, police determined Wolfe died of "fatal child abuse syndrome" and said his body had been covered with bruises both old and recent.