Mother's boyfriend charged in death of 10-year-old boy in Harlem

NEW YORK - A mother's boyfriend was charged in the murder of her 10-year-old son in Harlem, said police.

Police responded to a call from the mother and her boyfriend on March 6 about an assault inside 260 West 131 Street. Cops found Ayden Wolfe lying unconscious and unresponsive in the living room of apartment 4F. EMS rushed the boy to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Cops later arrested Ryan Cato, 34, on charges of murder and endangering the welfare of a child.

Circumstances surrounding the incident and Cato's arrest were not clear. The medical examiner was determining the cause of death.

A makeshift memorial was set up outside the Saint Nicholas Houses.

The Daily News reports that residents of the housing complex held a vigil for Ayden outside of his building Sunday, and tenant association head Tyrone Ball urged residents to check on their neighbors when they hear something amiss.

"These walls are thin enough to where you can hear a child being beaten. You think it’s not your business, it is your business," Ball said. "It takes a village to raise a child, but the village failed."

With the Associated Press